Just a few days after DoorDash released its Q4 2021 earnings report, which reflected strong growth in nonrestaurant orders, the company is doubling down on one of its emerging verticals: grocery.
On Thursday, the food delivery platform launched an express grocery delivery service in partnership with massive nationwide grocer Albertsons, through which it will deliver groceries to consumers in over 20 major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle in under 30 minutes.
DoorDash (NYSE: DASH) customers will be able to order express delivery of over 6,000 items, including fresh produce, dairy, snacks, packaged goods and frozen foods, from around 330 Albertsons (NYSE: ACI) banner stores such as Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco and Tom Thumb. The two companies plan to add additional Albertsons banners in the coming months.
“Leveraging our extensive logistics network and Albertsons Cos. selection of groceries, we are creating a one-stop shop for consumers nationwide to access all the items they need, delivered to their doorstep right when they need it,” said Fuad Hannon, vice president of new verticals at DoorDash. “DoorDash’s merchant-first approach guides how we build our products and services, and today’s launch of express grocery delivery furthers our commitment to helping Albertsons grow their delivery offerings to meet evolving customer needs.”
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To place an express grocery order, customers in areas where the service is available can simply search for “rapid grocery” on the DoorDash app or select the “Under 30 Min.” filter under the Grocery tab on the platform’s homepage.
The new offering builds on DoorDash’s existing partnership with Albertsons, which began offering delivery from 2,000 of its stores on DoorDash in June and later helped the platform pilot its DoubleDash service, which in essence allows customers to place an order with multiple merchants. The companies also worked together to expand alcohol offerings on the platform.
“By partnering with DoorDash, Albertsons Cos. is able to offer even faster delivery to go alongside the quality products and great value we provide our customers,” said Stephen Menaquale, senior vice president of e-commerce at Albertsons. “We’re proud of what we’ve built with DoorDash in order to guarantee the perfect mix of convenience, quality and the prices our customers appreciate.”
DoorDash’s entry into ultrafast grocery delivery actually took place in December, when the platform rolled out 15-minute delivery of 2,000 grocery items in New York City out of select DashMart locations, which are convenience stores that source products from local merchants and are owned and operated by DoorDash.
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Now, with an expanded express delivery service, DoorDash is breaking into a nascent space that until now has largely been dominated by startups like Jokr, Gorillas, Buyk and Getir. The difference is that those companies primarily deliver goods from local stores, whereas DoorDash’s offering will loop in larger, nationwide grocery store chains.
DoorDash isn’t the only third-party delivery platform to look at rapid grocery delivery, nor is it the only one to partner with Albertsons.
Similarly, rival Instacart has plans to introduce a comparable service this month, while another rival, Uber Eats, partnered with Albertsons in July to roll out same-day grocery delivery in over 400 cities, though that offering is not an express service like DoorDash’s or the anticipated Instacart offering. All three companies continue to go toe to toe in the grocery space as they expand their offerings beyond delivery from restaurants.
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