Uber, Amazon Lead In Top Business Expenses

Corporate travel and expense (T&E) management service provider Certify has compiled the most-expensed purchases among its business customers from last year, with Uber dominating the top spot.

In a press release on Thursday (Feb. 7), Certify said 11 percent of all transactions expensed on the Certify platform in 2018 were Uber purchases, with Starbucks coming in at number two with 4.1 percent of all transactions. This is the third year in a row that Uber has landed at number one, the company said.

For the first time since Certify began compiling this information, Amazon emerged in the top three, securing 4 percent of all transactions — up from fourth place in 2017. While expensing food and travel is typical, the rise of Amazon in this category suggests business travelers are increasingly turning to digital services for their business needs, including purchases of goods like office supplies.

“A key takeaway from the report is that companies are increasingly choosing digital brands over traditional providers for everything from meals to office supplies to transportation,” the company said in its announcement.

Looking at Q4 2018 data, Certify found that Uber secured 11.9 percent of transactions, and Amazon landed 4.2 percent. Food delivery firm Seamless emerged as the highest-rated brand for the year among business travelers, while Lyft and Uber Eats tied for second place.

Lyft’s boost in Q4 also signaled its continued rivalry with Uber in the business travel market. Overall, Lyft accounted for 2.8 percent of all transactions on the Certify platform in 2018, positioning the company in sixth place. It is the first year that Lyft landed in the top 10, Certify said.

“Enterprise-wide adoption of sharing economy services due to convenience, efficiency and price are key drivers for this shift,” said Certify CEO Robert Neveu in a statement. “The sharing economy vendors have rapidly adopted offerings to target the business traveler, and have made it even easier to consume their services across large and enterprise organizations.”