Game now sells food and groceries on Uber Eats – sometimes for cheaper than competitors do in store
- Staff Writer: Phillip de Wet
As of this week Uber Eats is delivering a wide range of the essentials that stores may sell from Game. That includes a long list of dry and frozen food, groceries and cleaning supplies, pet food, and baby products – down to 5kg bags of maize meal.
And it is surprisingly cheap.
Uber Eats has adapted to the restrictions of lockdown, which initially shut down its entire business of delivering hot food, by aggressively expanding the products it can deliver.
The tie-up with Game, if maintained successfully, seems to represent a longer term threat to competing grocers. The likes of Woolworths and Checkers have struggled to meet demand for home delivery slots, and smaller third-party shop-and-deliver services have likewise not managed to scale up rapidly enough to help shoppers avoid stores.
Uber Eats, with its army of drivers geared to meeting peak-hour demands around lunch and dinner, and its battle-tested system of real-time tracking, may well do better.
Especially on products where it is significantly cheaper than the competition.
But Game has a clear intention to move out of food as part of a turnaround plotted before the arrival of the coronavirus, so the frozen and chilled items currently on the Uber menu may not be around for long.
Restaurants have been known to hike their prices on delivery services to cover the commissions charged by the likes of Uber Eats and Mr D, but that is not evident in Game's prices.
Business Insider South Africa chose ten brand-name items at random across the goods sold by Game on Uber Eats, and compared the price to Game's regular price and those of Pick n Pay, Checkers, and Woolworths.
Game via Uber Eats charged the same price for most items as it does in store – except where it was significantly cheaper.
In four cases Game was beaten on price by a competitor, but even then its prices were largely in line with the rest of the grocery store pack.
Here is how Game's prices on Uber Eats compares with Game stores directly and Pick n Pay, Checkers, and Woolworths.
Bokomo Weet-Bix, 900g box
Game via Uber Eats: R41.99
Game in store: R41.99
Pick n Pay: R38.99
Checkers: R39.99 (with benefit card only, otherwise R49.99)
Woolworths: R48.99
All Gold tomato sauce, 700ml bottle
Game via Uber Eats: R23.99
Game in store: R29.99
Pick n Pay: R22.99
Checkers: R27.99
Woolworths: R30.99
I&J fish fingers, 600g
Game via Uber Eats: R59.99
Game in store: R59.99
Pick n Pay: n/a
Checkers: R49.99
Woolworths: n/a
Cadbury 5 Star chocolate bar, 49g
Game via Uber Eats: R8.99
Game in store: R8.99
Pick n Pay: R8.99
Checkers: R8.99
Woolworths: R8.99
Omo Auto washing powder, 3kg
Game via Uber Eats: R79.99
Game in store: R79.99
Pick n Pay: R79.99
Checkers: R84.99
Woolworths: R84.99
Johnson's baby powder, 400g (regular)
Game via Uber Eats: R37.99
Game in store: R54.99
Pick n Pay: R45.99
Checkers: R44.99
Woolworths: R45.99
Aquafresh toothpaste, 100ml (Fresh & Minty)
Game via Uber Eats: R13.99
Game in store: R13.99
Pick n Pay: R13.99
Checkers: R13.99
Woolworths: R13.99
Five Roses tagless teabags, box of 102
Game via Uber Eats: R49.99
Game in store: R49.99
Pick n Pay: R43.99
Checkers: R42.99
Woolworths: R36.99
Coca Cola original, 2 litre bottle
Game via Uber Eats: R19.99
Game in store: R21.99
Pick n Pay: R21.99
Checkers: R21.99
Woolworths: R21.99
Whiskas cat food, 85g pouch (Chicken in gravy)
Game via Uber Eats: R8.49
Game in store: R8.49
Pick n Pay: R9.00
Checkers: R8.49
Woolworths: R8.99
