DoorDash vs Mirakl

Uber says AI agents booked only four rides in peak week

During its third-quarter earnings call, Uber revealed that AI agents booked only four rides during its busiest week in October (the week of Halloween), despite the hype around agentic AI. Uber Eats saw 500 AI-agent-initiated orders, while the company handled around 320 million total trips and orders that week. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged early traction, noting that average in-app booking times (50 seconds for rides, 90 seconds for reordering food) mean AI agents may not save time. He expressed optimism that AI agents represent a future opportunity for demand, expecting the number of major AI assistants to grow from eight to over ten. The news contrasts with the buzz around AI agents like Instinct and Meta's Muse, but aligns with DoorDash's report of only a few hundred AI-agent orders.

• Uber reported only four rides booked via AI agents during its busiest week in October.
• Uber Eats saw 500 orders placed by AI agents in the same week.
• Uber handled about 320 million trips and orders during the Halloween week.

Liquid Death and Ibotta Execs on Incrementality Over ROAS

In an Adweek podcast episode recorded at Brandweek 2026, Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach and Liquid Death's Chief Media and Digital Commerce Officer Benoit Vatere discuss the limitations of ROAS in measuring promotional effectiveness for CPG brands. They advocate for incrementality as a truer measure, using matched-audience testing to identify genuinely incremental sales and cost per incremental dollar to protect margins. The conversation covers optimizing promotional spend across retail channels, reducing customer churn, growing household penetration, and reallocating budgets based on real-time sales signals. They emphasize the importance of third-party verification to build trust in retail media results.

• Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach and Liquid Death CMO Benoit Vatere discussed incrementality versus ROAS at Brandweek 2026.
• The podcast episode was released by Adweek on November 3, 2026.
• Ibotta reaches over 200 million consumers and has surpassed 50 million app downloads.

Advertisers Seek Clarity on DoorDash-Instacart Deal Implications

DoorDash's planned $17 billion acquisition of Instacart, announced nearly a week ago, has media buyers questioning the impact on retail media costs, data integration, and measurement. While the deal is not expected to close until late 2027 or early 2028 and faces FTC antitrust review, advertisers are already considering the potential scale and data advantages of the combined delivery platforms. Key concerns include the integration of their separate ad businesses, premium pricing, comparison with Walmart and Amazon's retail media dominance, and the ability to deliver independent, credible measurement. Industry analysts view this as a possible catalyst for retail media consolidation, emphasizing the importance of scale and measurement in commerce media.

• DoorDash announced plans to acquire Instacart for approximately $17 billion.
• The acquisition is expected to close by end of 2027 or first half of 2028.
• Media buyers question costs, data, and measurement outcomes of the deal.

Mirakl supports Orange France in the launch of its new marketplace

Mirakl announces its support for Orange France in launching a new marketplace, as detailed in a press release dated October 5, 2026.

Siia Cosmetics Expands Across Four Retail Marketplaces With Mirakl Connect

Siia Cosmetics expands across four retail marketplaces with Mirakl Connect, as reported by RetailBoss.

Payback Launches 'Payback Produkte' Marketplace, Expanding Platform Strategy

Payback, the German loyalty program, has launched 'Payback Produkte', a new marketplace within its app, currently in beta. It allows users to search, buy, and pay for products directly in the app while earning points. The marketplace offers several thousand articles across electronics, home, fashion, and sports. It operates on a model where selected partners and other merchants sell their goods, avoiding Payback holding inventory, with technology from Mirakl. This move strengthens the app as a central platform for shopping, saving, and loyalty. Payback has over 35 million active customers and 18 million active app users, with partner revenue exceeding 46 billion euros last year. The company plans to onboard more merchants and promote the service through its own channels, building on its existing 700+ partners.

• Payback launched 'Payback Produkte' marketplace in beta within its app.
• The marketplace offers thousands of products in electronics, home, fashion, and sports.
• Payback partners with Mirakl for marketplace technology; merchants sell without Payback holding inventory.