Uber Eats
Contactless Delivery

The world went through a significant shift when people were asked to stay home to curb the spread of COVID-19. During that time, restaurants worldwide struggled to stay open, yet the demand for convenient food never stopped—especially for busy frontline workers.

I led the design of a Contact-free Delivery system that helped delivery partners and restaurants continue providing essential food services on a global scale.

My role

Product Design Owner

I partnered with the product manager to define the problem space, shaping the feature roadmap and product direction. My design solutions influenced key initiatives across the Restaurant, Eater, and Courier ecosystem.

End-to-End Designer

I defined research goals, created strategic frameworks, designed prototypes, led visual design, shaped content strategy, documented key decisions, and collaborated with engineers to bring ideas to life.

Evolving challenge

Just before the pandemic, I was looking at improving the Eater experience when they couldn’t meet the courier, leading to canceled orders. My key question: How can we ensure Eaters receive their food even when they’re unavailable?

Then in March 2020, social distancing mandates shut down dining out, leaving restaurants struggling to survive. The disruption of in-person food pickups and deliveries had a significant impact on Uber Eats' business.

I needed to rethink the delivery system to create a seamless, contactless experience that kept everyone safe.

Shift strategies

Safety as Top priority

At the height of it, we focused on helping restaurants serve customers safely, enabling couriers to keep working, and ensuring eaters—especially frontline workers—could get the food they needed safety.

Timely response to needs

We rapidly responded to urgent customer needs, launching the first version of the contactless delivery system in just six weeks and rolling out fast-follow updates to improve it during the amid the global shutdown.

Solution:

Leave at Door

I designed and led the system for a new type of delivery that allowed eaters to receive food while maintaining physical distancing. This end-to-end contactless delivery framework covered everything—from eater opt-in to courier pickup, drop-off, handoff, and feedback.

Consumer Opt-in

Eaters can now choose ‘Leave at Door’ as their delivery option when adding a new address or at checkout. They can also provide additional instructions to help couriers locate their door for a seamless contactless drop-off.

Courier Delivery Experience

The Courier Delivery app enhances safety and streamlines contactless deliveries. From Task acceptance, to navigation and drop-off, couriers receive guided instructions, including eater-provided drop-off details. They can also snap a photo of the delivery location for clear communication and customer assurance.

Hand-off Experience

Eaters now receive mobile and in-app notifications for a safe and seamless order pickup. Photos and notes provide clear drop-off details, ensuring they know exactly where their food is.

Key Design Challenges

Encouraging Eaters to Choose Contactless Delivery

• How can I highlight the benefits and drive opt-in?

• How do I guide them to provide clear drop-off instructions?

Helping Couriers Complete Contactless Deliveries

• How do I educate couriers on this new delivery process?

• How can I provide clear guidance for safe pickups and drop-offs?

Setting Clear Expectations Between Eaters and Couriers

• How can I ensure safety and enforce social distancing?

• How do I help eaters know the right time to collect their food?

User Insights

I collaborated with two researchers—one focused on Eaters, the other on Couriers—and partnered with the product manager to define research goals. I outlined key product questions that shaped interview plans and scripts.

Finding the Drop-Off Spot

Couriers worry about where and how to locate the correct door

Ensuring Eaters Find The Food

Couriers fear Eaters may struggle to locate the drop-off

Obstacles to "Leave at Door"

Couriers need guidance if they can't access the exact drop-off spot.

Timing for Pickup

Eaters want clear notifications on when to come out while maintaining social distancing.

Drop-Off Accuracy

Eaters are concerned couriers may not leave the food in the specified location.

Courier Fraud

Some users worry this option could enable couriers to falsely mark a delivery as complete.

Adapting to
Complex Locations

Couriers struggled with high-rise buildings and dense areas, so I made collecting location-specific instructions a key step, ensuring they had clear guidance during delivery.

Boosting Courier Confidence

To help couriers navigate contactless deliveries, I introduced guided messaging, tooltips, navigation prompts, and clear step-by-step instructions.

Improving Delivery Transparency

To ensure eaters knew where their food was placed, I designed a flow requiring couriers to capture and share photos and notes at drop-off.

Timely Alerts for Safety

To help eaters maintain social distancing, I implemented timely notifications at key stages, ensuring they know exactly when to step out without encountering the courier.

Refining Product Policy

Previously when Eater is not available, couriers end up cancelling orders. Now that we have a new system of delivering that does not require eater to be in the premise, the team an I agreed to update this policy to ask Couriers to find a safe space to drop it anyway. I designed the experience in a way that couriers are launched in the the photo capture flow.

Enhancing Safety Through Feedback

To ensure compliance with government-mandated COVID-19 protocols, I developed a feedback loop that allowed eaters, couriers, and restaurants to report and address health concerns.

Data-driven hypothesis

To understand the rise in ‘Never Received Order’ reports, I collaborated with data science to analyze sample cases and identify key patterns

Walking in the Courier’s Shoes

I personally picked up and delivered orders to test the product firsthand, gathering insights to inform the next round of improvements

Insights from MVP launch

Spike in ‘Never Received Orders’ (NRO) Reports

The removal of physical hand-offs led to a rise in NRO tags

Lack of Clear Instructions

Some eaters provided incomplete drop-off details, increasing the risk of missing orders

Incomplete Courier Documentation

Without photos and notes, eaters struggled to locate their deliveries

Reducing ‘Never Received Orders’

To lower NROs, I added tooltips to educate couriers on the importance of photo capture and blocking nudges to ensure compliance.

Moving What Matters—Safely, Worldwide

UberEats’ contactless delivery was widely embraced, with Eaters globally still relying on it today. Couriers and Restaurants also report feeling safer using this feature.

70-80% Adoption

In the first weeks post-launch, 70-80% of eaters opted for ‘Leave at Door’ delivery

Increase in Completed Trips

It quickly surpassed Curbside, the previously preferred option, and increased overall completed trips

Lower Courier Cancellation Rates

‘Leave at Door’ maintained the lowest cancellation rate among delivery options