Uber Eats north-star metric: choose one and defend it against alternatives

You are a product manager at Uber, and a leader asks you which single metric matters most for Uber Eats, and why. Name one metric, define it precisely, and explain why it beats the alternatives. ```hint Map the marketplace first List who Uber Eats has to serve and where the business is in its life cycle, then test each candidate metric against both before you commit to one. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the metric for the whole Uber Eats marketplace, or for one surface such as the consumer app, the merchant tools or the courier app? - Should I treat Uber Eats as an established service competing for share in its markets, or as a business still entering new cities? - Does Uber Eats here include grocery, convenience and other non-restaurant delivery, or restaurant meals only? - Is the metric meant to steer the product team's week-to-week decisions, or to report overall health to leadership? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - How Uber Eats creates value for eaters, merchants and couriers, and how it makes money - Several candidate metrics compared on stated criteria before one is chosen - A precise definition of the chosen metric: what counts, over what time window, and what is excluded - An argument that ties the choice to the business's current stage and to long-term revenue - The chosen metric's blind spots and the guardrail metrics that cover them ### Follow-up Questions - Your metric grows for several quarters while orders per customer fall. What could explain it, and what would you do? - Which metric would you choose instead for Uber Eats in a city it launched last month? - If your metric dropped sharply in one week, how would you break it down to find the cause?