Uber Eats now faces scrutiny after competitors complain its run of exclusive deals with retailers like Bunnings, Hungry Jack’s and Guzman y Gomez creates an uneven playing field. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is understood to be collecting information on Uber Eats’ contracts, its commercial arrangements and the broader online delivery market.
Regulators are expected to examine the fine print of these agreements with local businesses, testing how they shape competition across the sector. Concern centres on whether these deals give Uber Eats an unfair edge in winning customers and locking in merchants.
The delivery giant has recently rolled out a wave of exclusive partnerships with food-focused retail brands, cementing its presence in quick-service dining and takeaway. It is also pushing beyond meals into new verticals such as hardware, highlighted by its delivery service for Bunnings products.
Many of these arrangements give Uber Eats sole delivery rights, which means rival platforms cannot list those retailers at all. That model can make it difficult for competing services to reach popular brands, shrinking their potential customer base.
Industry insiders say smaller delivery players feel squeezed as Uber Eats deepens these exclusive networks and broadens its reach into non-traditional categories. The structure of these deals appears to entrench one platform at the centre of an expanding ecosystem, making it harder for new or niche services to gain traction.
Regulators look likely to test whether this strategy limits consumer choice or reflects aggressive but legal competition in a fast-growing market. How the watchdog assesses these contracts could shape how delivery platforms structure partnerships across retail in coming years.
