Uber Direct for Shopify: Setup, Pricing & Scheduled Delivery

Last December, a pizza shop owner uninstalled Bird and told our support team why. They thought they'd need their own drivers, when what they wanted was a courier network like Uber's.

Bird now connects to Uber Direct for Shopify. Uber supplies the courier, and Bird runs the Shopify side: the delivery date and time slot your customer books, the price they see at checkout, and the moment the order goes to Uber. Your team packs the order. Nobody on your payroll drives.

How Uber Direct works with Bird

1. The customer books a delivery date and time in your Shopify store
2. They see Uber's live price at checkout, or your own delivery rate
3. You pack the order and mark it Dispatched in Bird
4. An Uber courier collects it and delivers inside the booked window
5. Bird saves Uber's tracking link on the order, ready to email to the customer

Uber Direct with Bird	At a glance
Shopify Plus needed?	No
Uber's live price at checkout	Needs Shopify's carrier-calculated shipping setting
What sends the order to Uber	Marking it Dispatched in Bird
Who bills each delivery	Uber, to your own Uber Direct account
Countries	US, Canada, UK, France, Australia, New Zealand
Bird plan	Essential or higher

Can you use Uber Direct on Shopify without Shopify Plus?

Yes. Uber's own Shopify app is open to Shopify Plus stores. Through Bird, a store on any Shopify plan can connect its own Uber Direct account and send deliveries to Uber, on Bird's Essential plan or higher.

The part that depends on your Shopify plan is showing Uber's live price at checkout. That needs Shopify's carrier-calculated shipping setting, which comes with the Advanced and Plus plans. On the Grow plan you can add it for a monthly fee or by switching to annual billing. Without it, you simply charge your own delivery rate at checkout and Uber still does the driving.

Uber Direct works with Bird in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand. Our Uber Direct setup guide lists everything you need before you connect.

How does an Uber Direct delivery get from checkout to the door?

It follows the same rhythm your team already knows, with Uber taking the last step.

1. Your customer picks a delivery date and a time slot in your store and sees the delivery price.
2. The order lands in Bird with its date and time attached.
3. When it's packed, someone marks it Dispatched in Bird. That's what calls Uber. Placing the order doesn't.
4. An Uber courier collects it from your shop and delivers inside the window your customer chose. Uber's courier availability in your area still applies, so dispatch early enough in the window for a driver to reach you.
5. Bird saves Uber's tracking link on the order. If you switch it on, Bird also marks the order fulfilled in Shopify and Shopify emails the tracking link to your customer.

That third step matters more than it looks. A courier who turns up while a cake is still being boxed is a courier waiting on your floor, on your bill. Because Uber is only called when you say the order is ready, the driver arrives for an order that's ready to go.

What does Uber Direct cost, and who pays?

Uber prices each delivery by distance, time and location, and bills it to your own Uber Direct account. For quotes and coverage in your area, Uber Direct's own team is the right contact.

What you control is how much of that price your customer sees:

• Pass Uber's price straight through at checkout, so delivery costs don't come out of your margin.
• Make bigger orders free. Set an order value, and anything above it delivers free while smaller orders pay Uber's price.
• Add a handling fee on top of Uber's quote, as a percentage, a flat amount or both, to cover packing time and bags.

For example (use your own numbers), a specialty grocer might offer free delivery above $75 and add a small flat handling fee below it. A big weekly shop costs the customer nothing extra, and a single bottle of olive oil pays its own way.

If Uber can't quote an address, no Uber rate shows for it.

How do multi-location stores use Uber Direct?

You choose which stores use Uber. Tick the locations Uber Direct delivers for, and add a contact name and phone number for each one so a driver can reach someone at pickup.

Each location sends its deliveries to one courier, so larger retailers can run different setups store by store:

• A downtown store with no parking hands every delivery to Uber.
• A suburban store keeps its own van for big, planned drops.
• A store in a second country uses a different courier that serves it.

Everything else in Bird still applies per store. Each location keeps its own delivery days, time slots, order limits and blockout dates, so you only promise delivery windows your team can pack in time. With multi-location support, a busy flagship can cap its afternoon deliveries while a quieter store keeps taking them.

One limit worth knowing: a store connects one Uber Direct account, even if it delivers in more than one country Uber serves.

What happens when an Uber Direct delivery goes wrong?

You decide most of it ahead of time, so nobody on the shop floor has to improvise.

• Nobody's home. Pick what the courier does by default: leave it at the door, bring it back to your shop, or discard it. Fresh flowers and frozen goods may want different answers than a boxed gift.
• The customer cancels. Cancel the order in Shopify and Bird cancels the Uber delivery too.
• The order changes after dispatch. Edits made after dispatch don't reach Uber, so change the delivery in Uber's dashboard, or cancel and dispatch again.
• Something blocks the booking. Bird emails the addresses you choose with the reason, usually a bad drop-off address or a missing phone number.
• Someone clicks Dispatched twice. It still creates only one delivery.

Your customer also hears from you along the way. Bird's delivery emails and, in supported countries, text messages keep them updated, so fewer people call to ask where their order is.

Which shops get the most out of Uber Direct?

Any shop that wants local delivery without running a fleet, but a few patterns come up again and again.

Florists sell same-day bouquets and let Uber handle the peaks, so their own driver isn't doing 40 drops on a Saturday.

Bakeries mark each cake Dispatched once it's boxed, so the courier collects it fresh.

Grocers use a free-delivery threshold so big baskets ship free and small ones cover their cost.

The full list of couriers by country, including Stuart, Gophr, Trexity and Go People, is on our last-mile delivery page. And if you'd rather keep your own drivers, our guide to EasyRoutes route planning shows how Bird's delivery dates feed straight into routes.

Start offering Uber Direct delivery

Bird Pickup & Delivery connects your Uber Direct account in a few fields, under Settings, then Integrations. It's trusted by 7,000+ Shopify merchants in 60+ countries. Try it free for 14 days, and our Uber Direct integration page covers the details.

FAQs

Do I need Shopify Plus to use Uber Direct?

Not with Bird. Uber's own Shopify app is for Shopify Plus stores, but Bird connects your Uber Direct account on any Shopify plan. Showing Uber's live price at checkout needs Shopify's carrier-calculated shipping setting, which is included on Advanced and Plus and available on Grow as an add-on or with annual billing.

Do I need my own Uber Direct account?

Yes. You connect your own Uber Direct account with billing set up, and Uber bills you for each delivery.

Can customers schedule an Uber Direct delivery for a later date?

Yes. Customers choose a delivery date and time slot in your store, and the Uber courier delivers inside that window once you mark the order Dispatched.

When does Bird send the order to Uber?

Only when you mark it Dispatched in Bird. Placing the order doesn't call a courier.

Which countries does Uber Direct work in with Bird?

The US, Canada, the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Which Bird plan do I need for Uber Direct?

Courier integrations, including Uber Direct, are on the Essential plan and above. You also need multi-location turned on in Bird, your own Uber Direct account, and local delivery set up with delivery days and time slots. Every plan has a 14-day free trial, and current plans are on the pricing page.