The launch of two national delivery services in Tucson this week is making it easier for people to get their groceries and favorite restaurant foods delivered straight to their doorsteps.
Instacart, a nationwide grocery and retail delivery service, and UberEATS, a meal-ordering and delivery platform, announced their expansions into Tucson earlier this month.
Instacart began serving the Tucson, Catalina Foothills, Oro Valley, South Tucson, Drexel Heights, Flowing Wells, Littletown and Casas Adobes areas on Tuesday, covering approximately 330,000 households.
Through Instacart.com or the app, members can buy groceries from local stores including Bashas’, Whole Foods Market, Petco, Costco, Natural Grocers, CVS and Fry’s.
David Holyoak, Instacart operations manager, said Instacart aims to “give customers their time back.”
“You can have it delivered right when you get home from work,” he said.
“Professionals are so busy in today’s world, everything moves so fast. People are working early in the morning to late at night; the last thing they want to do is go grocery shopping at the end of their day.”
Deliveries over $35 cost $5.99 each time, but the price can vary if the total is under $35. For customers who want more-frequent deliveries, the company offers an annual membership called Instacart Express, which costs $149 and includes unlimited deliveries for free for any order over $35.
At minimum, deliveries can be completed within an hour, but orders can also be placed up to seven days in advance.
UberEATS operates in over 100 cities globally and launched here on Wednesday. The UberEATS app allows Tucsonans to order food from more than 80 local eateries, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
UberEATS general manager and University of Arizona alum Clay Carroll says the company is always “looking to partner with more restaurants and more delivery partners to grow the business here in Tucson.”
Some local favorites already partnering with UberEATS include Baggin’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Fired Pie, Sentinel Peak Brewing Co. and Bing’s Boba Tea.
Tucson felt like a natural next step for UberEATS, especially after launching the delivery service in Phoenix last year, according to Carroll.
“With the press of a button, UberEATS brings people food when they want it, with reliability and trust,” said Carroll.
The delivery service includes an upfront booking fee, which starts at $4.99, plus the cost of the menu items from the restaurant. The booking fee varies depending on the distance the Uber driver must travel to complete the order.
Restaurant owners can go to ubereats.com/restaurants to partner with the company.
Instacart was founded in San Francisco in 2012 and has since expanded to more than 90 U.S. cities. Instacart will be available in about 80 percent of the U.S. by the end of next year, according to Holyoak.
Both Instacart and UberEATS are hiring in the Tucson area. Applications can be found at careers.instacart.com and tucne.ws/ubereatsjobs, their websites. Applicants must have their own vehicles to work for either company.
“We pay (employees) per delivery and then per item picked, and a 100 percent of tips goes to them,” said Instacart’s Holyoak. “In Tucson, we have a $10 an hour guarantee.”
UberEATS drivers are compensated for both picking up and dropping off meals, as well as mileage. Drivers can keep any tips they receive.
Other delivery services have expanded to Tucson in the last year, including the Philadelphia-based company, GoPuff, which began serving Tucson last November, delivering local convenience-store goods to app users.
