UBER will soon make customers sit through a 90 second video advert as they wait for a lift – and even when they’re on their journey, according to an executive at the company.
Users are less than impressed with the change – and some are even threatening to delete the ride-hailing app in favour of rivals.
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“Nice way turn away clients. How dystopian, I won’t be using Uber any longer,” one customer wrote on Twitter.
Another added: “If you serve me an ad that blocks me from seeing/contacting my Uber, I will cancel my ride and order a Lyft instead.”
The video ads will mostly run while users wait for their drivers to arrive, Uber executive Mark Grether told the Wall Street Journal.
This is when many users’ eyes are glued to the app, to make sure they’re up to date with their driver’s location.
But Uber also plans to install tablets in car seats to show ads to passengers during their journey.
The company also has plans to extend video ads to the Uber Eats app and its alcohol sales platform Drizly.
It comes as Uber’s ads business continues to grow and prove more lucrative to advertisers because of the data the app has on its users.
Some 345,000 merchants bought ads with Uber in the first quarter of 2023, up from 315,000 in the last quarter of 2022, according to the company’s most recent earnings report.
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Most of these ads – which are static and not videos – appeared on Uber Eats, with more than 25 per cent of all participating restaurants buying ads, Grether noted.
One of Uber’s key selling points for advertisers is the type of data the company has on its users, which includes the places you visit and what you frequently order on Uber Eats.
Although it’s important to note that Uber says it won’t share individual user data with advertisers.
It’s not clear whether users will be able to skip these ads, or be forced to watch them until the end.
But it’s possible Uber will follow YouTube in offering a Premium ad-free package, for a price.
Either way, it’s clear consumers are tired of being hounded by digital advertisements.
“The fact that #Uber has ads feels like such a violation. Like, I’m paying for this service?,” another user tweeted.
“Does every digital thing everywhere have to advertise to me about everything at all times? Goodness.”
Another wrote: “Hopefully they will move to infotainment or sponsored placements within content they know the user is interested in vs standard ‘we have you trapped so watch this.'”
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