A FedEx webpage and the Uber package app page are shown in this photo, in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Uber, the ride-hailing and delivery company, said Wednesday that it is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers' return packages. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers' return packages.
The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members.
The San Francisco-based company said the service will be available in nearly 5,000 U.S. cities to start.
Uber said customers will be able to choose package drop off locations within its app. Only locations open for at least the next hour will be listed. Drivers will provide visual confirmation once a package has been dropped off.
While the service is expected to be used primarily to return packages, Uber drivers will also mail new packages that are sealed and have prepaid labels.
The new service gives Uber a vast opportunity.
Package returns have become a big business as consumers do more of their shopping online. According to the National Retail Federation, a trade group, 16.5% of online shopping sales were returned in 2022, or $212 billion worth of merchandise.
FedEx and UPS deliver 31 million parcels each day, while the U.S. Postal Service delivers 25 million, said Satish Jindel, a shipping and logistics consultant and president of ShipMatrix.
Much of that volume involves delivery to businesses that do not return packages often, Jindel said, and he believes many people will continue to return packages themselves, rather than pay Uber to do it.
“Consumers do not like to pay to return things,” he said.
Jindel estimates the target market for Uber's return package service is around 574,000 parcels each business. That would rise about 25% in January because of holiday returns, he said.
Still, Jindel has doubts about the service and whether it can be profitable for Uber, since it could cost drivers more than $5 in time and gas to drop off packages. He also said retailers are trying to cut back on the volume of returns by making it harder and more expensive to return items, so that could limit demand for Uber.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
