DoorDash is getting into the grocery delivery game.
The restaurant delivery platform is partnering with regional grocers across the country, including Smart & Final, Meijer and Fresh Thyme, to offer on-demand grocery delivery. In upcoming weeks, D’agostino, Gristedes and Hy-Vee will join the platform. Other chains, including Wegmans, Gelson’s and others, will allow customers to order prepared food through the app.
Before the pandemic, consumers were slow to adopt online grocery shopping. But now, that business is booming. At Amazon (AMZN), which owns Whole Foods, “online grocery sales tripled year-over-year,” CFO Brian Olsavsky said during a July call with analysts discussing the company’s second-quarter results.
Other grocery stores want in on those sales, and are teaming up with third-party providers like DoorDash or competitor Instacart to grow their businesses.
Earlier this month, Walmart (WMT) and grocery-delivery service Instacart announced a new partnership. Through Instacart, Walmart (WMT) locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Tulsa are offering same-day delivery.
DoorDash is promising that customers will get their groceries within the hour, which could give it an edge over the competition.
“Grocery stores on DoorDash will be available on an on-demand basis,” Mike Goldblatt, the company’s head of grocery and convenience partnerships wrote in a blog post announcing the news Thursday. “That means no scheduling required, no queues, no waiting.” There is a $3.99 delivery fee for each grocery order, unless users are part of DoorDash’s subscription service, DashPass, which costs $9.99 per month and includes grocery.
DoorDash and Instacart have both been expanding their services during the pandemic.
In April, DoorDash added convenience stores including 7-Eleven, Walgreens, CVS and Wawa to its app. And earlier this month, DoorDash announced its own virtual convenience store, DashMart, where customers can buy groceries and other items. It’s been working with convenience and grocery stores behind the scenes for some time, helping power their own apps and delivery services.
Instacart partners with more than 400 retailers in North America, including Aldi, Costco (COST), Kroger (KR) and Wegmans. More recently, the company has struck deals with Big Lots (BIG) and Staples on same-day delivery.
— CNN Business’s Sara O’Brien contributed to this report.
