In an interview with CNBC’s “Tech Check” on Monday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company could get into the cannabis delivery business once federal reforms are enacted.
“When the road is clear for cannabis, when federal laws come into play, we’re absolutely going to take a look at it.” – Khosrowshahi, during “Tech Check”
The response came following a question about Uber’s recent acquisition of Drizly – an on-demand alcohol marketplace – for $1.1 billion in stock and cash. Drizly’s sister company, Lantern, was not included in that deal.
“What Drizly is all about is what we call our ‘fast and frequent strategy,’ which is ‘what are the types of deliveries that a high percentage of consumers are gonna want fast and to their home and are quite frequent,’” Khosrowshahi said in the interview. “And we think, obviously, food grocery, pharmacy, and alcohol are part of that category.”
Recently, as the result of language in a federal omnibus spending bill signed by former President Donald Trump last year, UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service all said they would stop shipping vaping products – whether they contain nicotine or not. That move could increase demand for the products among on-demand delivery companies not affiliated with the major shipping and postal firms.
During the coronavirus pandemic, some states created emergency regulations to allow cannabis delivery. In New York, delivery was included in the legislature-approved legalization bill and touted as an opportunity for more entrepreneurs to get involved in the industry.
A report last year from cannabis delivery and tech company Eaze found that the 30 days after March 13, 2020 – the day the coronavirus pandemic was declared – new Eaze customer sign-ups jumped by nearly 60% while first-time deliveries increased 44%, and the average size of every order grew 15% while the value increased 13%.
“March and April 2020 were the year’s highest months for new deliveries and, overall in 2020, new customer sign-ups increased by 71%, and average order volume and value rose by 15% and 20%, respectively,” Eaze said in the report.
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