Uber Direct is bringing on-demand shopping to the beauty market. The ride-sharing app wants to be more than a platform for sourcing transportation and food delivery—now, Uber is teaming up with beauty brands like Estée Lauder Companies and MAC Cosmetics to enable consumers to order beauty products on-demand. Uber Direct launched in 2020 as a platform for fulfilling same-day deliveries originating on beauty and fashion brands’ own websites/apps. Estée Lauder Companies became the first business to directly link with Uber in the U.S. in May, allowing consumers to order ELC-owned brands (like Origins) through the Uber app. The ride-sharing platform is still in the early stages of on-demand beauty ordering (Uber recently acquired Postmates Unlimited that offered a beauty bundle service to LA-based subscribers, and introduced new brand partners like Dr Barbara Sturm skincare available to LA-based members of Uber’s Eats Pass), and the venture presents a first-of-its-kind opportunity for some beauty brands looking to respond to consumers’ interest in on-demand delivery—basically what Amazon Prime delivery already offers, but faster. YPulse’s shopping and retail research shows that 77% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennials are regularly shopping online, and Uber Direct is attempting to shake up the online shopping game. (Vogue Business)