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Uber has launched a new feature to provide hyperlocal deliveries to users from stores near them in a direct bid to counter rival Ola’s hyperlocal delivery aspirations it announced earlier this year.

The ride-hailing company has added a ‘store pickup’ option to the list of services on the Uber app, although clicking on it throws up an error that says, “We couldn’t load the content”.

Uber did not immediately respond to YourStory’s queries. The article will be updated with any inputs from the company.

The company had already been providing parcel pick up and drop services in various cities in India via two-wheelers. The new feature supplements its parcel delivery offering and will likely involve tie-ups with local stores.

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Uber launched the service in nine Indian cities, including Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, and Ludhiana, via two-wheelers, according to The Economic Times. The report added the move is part of Uber’s strategy to strengthen its fleet utilisation at a time when quick commerce is seeing strong demand from users.

Initially, Uber will only offer delivery services of the items, but it hopes to soon also allow customers to pay for items directly on the app, ET reported, citing sources.

Uber’s biggest competitor in the space, Ola, has also sharpened its focus on hyperlocal deliveries, particularly through its electric fleet, the expansion of which it had announced in a press briefing recently.

The two companies, along with Rapido and Porter, have been eyeing a piece of the heating quick commerce pie currently led by the likes of Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.

Uber posted a surprise net loss of $654 million for the first quarter, mainly due to legal settlements. Analysts were expecting a profit of $474 million, as per The Wall Street Journal.

Gross bookings on the app, however, showed healthy increase, up 20% from the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 15% to $10.1 billion, as per its quarterly filings.