If you're someone who recoils at the sight of an ad, you're going to be in for a bad day the next time you order an Uber. The same goes for when you order food via Uber Eats or get your next tipple from Drizly, too.
That's because Uber is putting video ads into all of its apps, so you can be advertised to while you wait for your taxi or wonder where your meal got to.
It isn't just your phone that will start to show ads, either. Uber taxis with in-car tablets will also show ads on their displays.
The waiting game
The WSJ reports that "users will soon encounter full-length video ads for the first time across the company’s ride-hailing app, food delivery service Uber Eats and alcohol sales platform Drizly."
This isn't Uber's first foray into the world of ads, of course. "The company has sold static display ads on Uber Eats since 2019 and began offering ads on its ride-hailing app last year," the WSJ notes.
The first quarter of 2023 reportedly saw 345,000 merchants buy ads with Uber, something that the company will hope to leverage as it rolls out its new video ads.
"Uber will debut its video ad products this week across the U.S. before expanding to markets including the U.K., France and Australia later this year," Mark Grether, vice president and general manager of Uber Technologies’ advertising division reportedly told the WSJ.
As for in-car tablets, they'll roll out on a city-by-city basis, we're told.
In terms of what makes this so compelling for advertisers, Uber's location data and purchase history should prove a goldmine for anyone keen to tailor their ads to a specific area or people.
While ads are often something that users rail against, it's unlikely that many will delete their Uber accounts as a result of any of this.
