Uber Technologies Targets Sparse Markets, AV Scale as Uber One Membership Tops 50 Million

Uber One membership surpassed 50 million , up 50% year over year, with members generating about half of bookings and spending roughly three times more than non-members. Uber plans to expand benefits and use the program to improve retention during price competition. Uber is targeting faster-growing “sparse markets” , where platform usage is about 10% versus 50% in core markets, while using a mix of premium, discounted and advertising-supported services to broaden demand and support margins. Autonomous vehicles remain a major long-term opportunity: Uber has access to more than 120,000 AV-ready vehicles, works with nine partners and expects 15 by year-end. The company is also expanding grocery and retail delivery, which has reached $15 billion and is growing more than 40%.

Uber plans to expand its on-demand transportation and delivery platform, increasing engagement through memberships and cross-platform usage, entering less densely populated markets and investing in autonomous-vehicle infrastructure. Speaking at the Communacopia conference, Khosrowshahi said Uber has grown its top line by more than 20% in each of the past four quarters while also increasing margins. He said the company continues to see favorable demand trends for on-demand transportation, food delivery, grocery and retail delivery.

“Our mission is still to allow people to go anywhere, get anything, and reinvent on-demand transportation in cities,” Khosrowshahi said.

Khosrowshahi identified expansion in “sparse markets” as a key growth driver. He said about 50% of the eligible population in Uber’s core markets uses either Uber or Uber Eats, compared with about 10% in sparse markets. Those markets are growing 1.5 times faster than core markets, he said.

Uber is also pursuing what Khosrowshahi called a “barbell strategy,” using higher-margin offerings—including Uber for Business, Uber Black, Blacklane, priority delivery and advertising—to support lower-cost products and promotions. Those lower-cost services include grocery promotions and two- and three-wheeler offerings in developing markets, as well as discounted transportation products.

Uber One remains an important part of the company’s effort to increase customer frequency and retention. Khosrowshahi said Uber has more than 50 million Uber One members, up 50% year over year, and that members account for roughly 50% of company bookings. Uber One members spend three times more than non-members, according to Khosrowshahi. Members are twice as likely to use multiple Uber platforms as non-members. He said some markets have membership penetration near 60% of gross bookings. Khosrowshahi said Uber intends to enrich membership benefits through partnerships and mobility-related features such as upgrades and priority airport dispatch. He also described membership as a defensive tool in markets where competitors use aggressive pricing, saying member market position has remained more consistent than that of non-members during price competition.

On consumer conditions, Khosrowshahi said Uber has not observed customers trading down. Growth among lower-income consumer cohorts has been as strong as growth among higher-income cohorts, he said, while U.S. mobility growth has accelerated since late last year.