Takeout “Three Kingdoms” upgraded! As soon as DoorDash swallowed InstaCart, Amazon (AMZN.US) joined hands with Uber (UBER.US) to get benefits. Prime members can get free shipping over $25

Zhitongcaijing · 21h ago

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Amazon (AMZN.US) is adding Uber (UBER.US) takeout benefits to Prime members on its shopping site to reach a deeper partnership. Just a week ago, competitor DoorDash (DASH.US) agreed to buy Instacart.

The two companies said in a statement on Thursday that US Prime members can waive Uber delivery fees if they place an order through the new Uber Eats interface on the Amazon website or app and the takeout order amount reaches $25 or more.

This new integration allows Prime members to order from hundreds of thousands of restaurants on the Uber platform without leaving the Amazon app or creating an Uber account. An Uber spokesperson declined to comment on the commercial terms of the deal, including whether the company would pay Amazon referral fees for orders from the e-commerce site.

The two companies are strengthening ties at a time when competition in the industry intensifies. DoorDash is acquiring delivery service InstaCart to challenge Amazon and Walmart (WMT.US)'s expanding online grocery programs. Uber had discussed the acquisition of Instacart, but ultimately withdrew from the negotiations.

Under the new agreement, Uber will be able to reach hundreds of millions of Amazon Prime users, including those who may not have used the Uber app of the same name for takeout. Uber already relies on Amazon's custom chips and cloud computing services to support its online car-hailing and takeout businesses.

According to an Amazon spokesperson, the agreement between Amazon and Uber replaced a similar previous collaboration with Grubhub. The spokesperson added that Grubhub+ subscriptions will also no longer be an ongoing benefit for Prime members after Thursday.

The Prime subscription costs $139 per year in the US and offers benefits such as discounted shipping and Amazon video streaming services.