DoorDash Just Launched A New Service Customers Will Love

The next time you find yourself in need of a bag of dog food or a bottle of cough medicine, but the last thing you want to do is leave the comfort and safety of your own home, you're in luck. DoorDash's new service, DashMart, will deliver them to your door in about 30 minutes. While you're at it, you can even add on a bottle of signature sauce from your local BBQ place or a pre-packaged dessert from one of your favorite restaurants. On their blog on August 5th, DoorDash announced they've expanded their platform to include an entirely new channel called DashMart, which offers household essentials and retail items.

The launch of DashMart comes on the heels of an announcement in April of 2020 that DoorDash has partnered with 7-Eleven, Walgreens, CVS, and Wawa to offer convenience items like paper towels and Advil to customers. This sounds similar to what DashMart promises to provide, but the difference seems to be the inclusion of retail items like sauces, spice blends, and packaged desserts from your favorite restaurants plus the fact that, according to their website, DashMart stores are owned, operated, and curated by DoorDash. 

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said (via CNBC), "It's a bit like the express lane inside of a store, whether that store is a grocery store or a convenience store, or a pharmacy. Sometimes, you just need those things that either you forgot, or just need in high frequency." 

If you're thinking DashMart sounds similar to other online marketplaces like Amazon and Instacart, you may be right. CNBC says DashMart appears to challenge these competitors, and Xu explained, "You're going to be able to get it in about 30 minutes. You really don't have that proposition anywhere else." In order to pull it off, Doordash has constructed dedicated DashMart distribution centers. Each location will carry approximately 2,000 items, including household essentials, ready-made meals, and restaurant retail items like specialty spices or sauces.

Not only does this new version of home essential and food delivery provide added convenience for DoorDash's customers, but it also benefits their merchants which, in addition to local restaurants, now include national brands like The Cheesecake Factory and Nando's. According to DoorDash's website, the opportunity for merchants to sell their fan-favorite retail items through DashMart offers another avenue for growth — something that's as important as ever during the pandemic. For now, DashMart is available in 8 cities, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dallas, Salt Lake City, the greater Phoenix area, and Redwood City, CA. There are plans to launch in many more cities across the country in the near future, including San Diego, Baltimore, Denver, Sacramento, and Concord, CA.