DoorDash Launches Grocery Delivery From C-Stores
The largest restaurant delivery app in the United States by share of sales is teaming up with major convenience store operators to deliver groceries.
DoorDash is partnering with more than 1,800 store locations nationwide, including such companies as 7-Eleven, CircleK, Wawa and Casey’s General Store, to deliver household essentials such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies and over-the-counter medicine, as well as prepared hot and cold foods, energy drinks, and ice cream pints.
"We began piloting this offering earlier this year, and given the changes and challenges so many are facing in this moment, we accelerated the launch of our Convenience category to offer critical supplies during a time when delivery and pickup are vital to consumers’ well-being and to the health of our local communities," noted Mike Goldblatt, head of grocery partnerships at San Francisco-based DoorDash. "Local businesses have been forced to change how they operate, and through this effort we hope to support and empower franchise owners and local convenience stores to reach customers through the DoorDash platform."
DoorDash and its subsidiaries earned 39% of U.S. consumers’ meal delivery sales in February, while Grubhub and its subsidiaries, which include Seamless and Eat24, took in 30%.
The DoorDash announcement comes at a time when popular grocery delivery services such as Instacart, Shipt and Amazon are struggling to meet surging consumer demand for grocery delivery.
This surge as Americans sheltered in place the past few weeks caused order volume at San Francisco-based Instacart to increase more than 150% and prompted the company to announce it was looking for 300,000 shoppers to join its platform.
DoorDash also recently rolled out a nationwide program, involving more than 2,000 store locations, to deliver groceries to seniors at no charge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
