Uber launches sale of gift cards in 35,000 US retail locations
Ride-hailing service Uber is set to cash in on the US gift cards market, worth $130bn in 2015, by selling its own gift cards in 35,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart, Target and CVS. The move follows rival Lyft's similar partnership with coffee house chain Starbucks. The Uber cards start at $15 and run up to $500. Uber is also looking into a scheme offering employees cards as an "additional benefit".

Uber gift cards will be available at Walmart stores across the U.S..

Uber gift cards will be available at Walmart stores across the U.S.. Credit: uber

Starting Monday, you can buy an Uber gift card in stores.

The ride-hailing company is now selling gift cards at Walmarts nationwide and plans to introduce them at CVS and Target.

"Whether it’s exploring a new city, a night out with friends, or simply a safe ride home, Uber is ready to help get the special people in your life where they want to go. And treating them to these experiences has never been easier with the introduction of the Uber gift card," Uber product manager Drew Quinn wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

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Uber's gift cards follow a similar effort by rival Lyft. In August, Lyft began a partnership with Starbucks(opens in a new tab) to sell gift cards at the coffee chain.

The scope of Lyft's plan was more limited than Uber's, as it was confined to Starbucks locations only. For Lyft, the gift cards were a way to encourage people to choose the ride-hailing company over its much bigger competitor. (Lyft didn't respond to questions about the status of its gift-card program or if the company planned to move them beyond Starbucks.)

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For Uber, the situation is a little different. It doesn't need the buzz of a partnership with a company such as Starbucks. Instead, it's just extending its ubiquity to retail.

Plenty of people still buy gift cards, with sales hitting $130 billion(opens in a new tab) in 2015 and the National Retail Federation finding that the little pieces of plastic have been the most requested gift for the past eight years(opens in a new tab). Even if they could give someone else credit directly through the Uber app, in-app credit can't be put in an envelope and gifted on a birthday.

Uber says its gift cards will be in 35,000 stores in the coming weeks. Uber will also sell them online soon. The cards don't expire and are available for between $15 and to $500.