Yes, it’s pretty much like how YouTube ads popping out seemingly from nowhere irk users. Uber is looking at offering hyper-personalized offers and ads to passengers, such as urging them to pick up a coffee during the ride. Here’s the story.
Coffee on the way?
Hyper-personalized ads are quite a thing nowadays. These pertain to advertisements tailored to the audiences according to their unique data, such as browsing history, purchase behavior, demographics, and real-time actions.
So, for instance, you usually surf for food online. Then, you’re most likely to see food ads appear. Or, if you’re everyday working on gaming content, what appears on your YouTube page as ads are about gaming.
Unlike traditional personalization that might target broad audience segments, hyper-personalization has this goal of creating a unique ad experience for each of you, for better relevance and engagement. For, why would you even watch ads on construction tools if you’re not interested in those?
“We’re able to pick kind of the right time to send a promotion to you,” the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, told Ridesharing Forum. “So on your way to work, maybe you pick up a Starbucks coffee with a promotion attached to it. Those kinds of magical experiences have to be hyper-personalized. And again, can be optimized as a result of a bunch of optimization and model kind of tuning work.”
Khosrowshahi discussed these plans as part of his remarks delivered ahead of the company’s quarter-two results, which unveiled problems, solutions, and opportunities.
For one, it has been revealed that fewer than one in five Uber customers use the company’s rideshare and delivery services at the same time. To improve them, the company is looking at using more AI.
“Larger and more sophisticated AI models are also improving our ability to encourage cross-platform activity for the right consumers at the right time—for instance, grabbing coffee on your way to the office, or having your groceries delivered right as you arrive at your vacation rental,” Khosrowshahi further went on.
The CEO added how these hyper-personalized advertiments are “a key focus area” in its early phases, and that consumers “will continue to see Uber and Uber Eats innovate to supercharge cross-platform activity.”
“What we’re trying to have is the best of both worlds, a highly tuned mobility app, a highly tuned delivery app, both of which talk to each other and take targeted moments to promote each other as opposed to kind of broad promotion that can seem … anti-consumer to some extent,” Khosrowshahi added.
$20 billion buyback plan
While DoorDash is currently valued $100 billion, Uber has a $20 billion stock buyback plan. Yesterday, the world’s number one ridesharing app unveiled this program as the company and its delivery services benefit from the growing support for its paid loyalty program.
These factors are crucial for Uber as they encourage customers to use both its delivery and ridesharing services, presenting the opportunity to generate as much as three times the profit compared to using just one service.
In order to draw more people into the loyalty program, Uber took action, such as conducting events that offer discounts and deals for rides, food delivery, and groceries. What do you think of this story? Share your insights by creating that account here on this site today.