DoorDash is taking dark store fulfillment in a new direction with an online delivery service that sells products from its owned and operated local distribution centers. The DashMart convenience stores carry approximately 2,000 products, a combination of basics and impulse items — such as snacks, groceries, over-the-counter medicines and pet food — along with “fan favorites” from local and national restaurant chains.
DashMart is currently available in eight cities: Chicago, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Salt Lake City and Redwood City, Calif. as well as the greater Phoenix area. The company says “many more cities” will launch the service in the coming months, including San Diego, Baltimore, Denver, Sacramento and Concord, Calif.
This is the first time DoorDash will curate its own products or operate DCs. In an interview with CNBC, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said the company is taking responsibility for merchandise so that it can provide unparalleled delivery speed.
“You’re going to be able to get it in about 30 minutes,” Xu said. “You really don’t have that proposition anywhere else. So, from our perspective, there was an opportunity to serve both consumers and merchants toward the goal of making sure that we can get the best of a city to the customers that live there.”
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Xu added that the expansion into grocery deliveries was on its roadmap before the pandemic, but that stay-at-home orders that drove unprecedented adoption of home delivery from restaurants and grocers accelerated those plans.
In addition to partnerships with national brands such as The Cheesecake Factory and Nando’s, DoorDash is working with local restaurants such as Brother’s BBQ in Denver, delivering its made-from-scratch BBQ Sauces and BBQ Seasoning, and This Little Goat in Chicago, offering its globally inspired sauces and spices.
