Time-crunched consumers, rejoice! Uber has teamed up with messaging app Operator to power one-hour delivery in San Francisco.
Operator, a chat-based concierge that uses a network of experts to help connect users with retail associates who can help them shop, on Wednesday started offering speedy delivery via UberRush of more than 100 of the most popular gifts from the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall and Saks Fifth Avenue.
TechCrunch broke the news, noting that the partnership is mutually beneficial for both parties.
When Uber rolled out UberRush in New York, Chicago and San Francisco in October, alliances with Shopify and Bigcommerce enabled retailers using those multichannel commerce solutions to offer customers same-day delivery of online orders—but stores in those three markets have to set up their own UberRush integration.
Operator, meanwhile, though it’s available anywhere in the U.S., has heretofore worked only with traditional shipping options. If the collaboration is successful and expands to other markets, it could easily extend one-hour delivery to businesses across the country without any extra effort on the retailer’s end.
“We’re excited to work with Operator to make this year’s shopping experience a breeze,” Jason Droege, head of Uber Everything, told TechCrunch. “By using UberRush as the infrastructure for on-demand delivery, Operator can now help users save time discovering the products that they’re looking for and get them delivered within a few hours.”
UberRush prices range from $5 to $7 and Uber takes a 25 percent cut of the fee in San Francisco (the rest goes to the courier), but Operator doesn’t charge consumers to use its service. However, as TechCrunch pointed out, because the partnership could potentially send more purchases to retailers, Operator could introduce a pricing procedure for merchants.