Bed Bath & Beyond partners with Uber to deliver baby essentials

Dive Brief:

Bed Bath & Beyond has partnered with Uber to help launch a baby and kids vertical on the Uber Eats app, the companies announced Monday.
Products — including diapers, wipes and first aid kits — from more than 750 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and nearly 120 BuyBuy Baby stores are available for on-demand delivery on both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, according to a press release.
Uber Eats' baby and kids vertical will also include brands like Honest, Yumi and Little Spoon.

Dive Insight:

As Bed Bath & Beyond works to turn its business around, it continues to build out its offerings to become an "omni-always" retailer.

The latest tie-up with Uber builds on Bed Bath & Beyonds existing partnerships with Roadie, DoorDash, Instacart and Shipt for delivery.

"This partnership with Uber is a terrific way we are reaching new customers and the fact that BuyBuy Baby was chosen to help launch Uber's baby and kids delivery vertical reflects the brand's leadership in welcoming customers to parenthood," Rafeh Masood, Bed Bath & Beyond's chief digital and interim chief brand officer, said in a statement. "We are excited to begin this journey with Uber and look forward to having their innovative services market and deliver products from Bed Bath & Beyond and BuyBuy Baby right to customers' doorsteps."

Retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart have set the bar for speedy and efficient delivery forcing other retailers to keep up. Sephora, Staples and Rite Aid, among others, have added same-day delivery services over the last year or so.

And earlier this summer, Bed Bath & Beyond extended its curbside pickup hours, allowing customers to retrieve online orders before stores open. The expanded fulfillment services may bode well for the retailer heading into the busiest weeks of the holiday shopping season.

Nearly 80% of consumers plan to purchase gifts online this year, according to a recent Coresight Research report. And of those consumers searching the web for products, 20% and 17.9% of consumers plan to fulfill those orders via curbside and BOPIS services, respectively.