Utilizing a team of employees vs. its bread-and-butter gig workers, DoorDash is rolling out 10-15-minute delivery of 2,000 grocery and essential items in New York from a DashMart store in the Chelsea neighborhood, the company said.
More locations will follow in New York and elsewhere as DoorDash goes head-to-head with main rival Instacart as well as Gopuff — with its own plans for world conquest — Jokr and others in the fast-and-furious world of immediate grocery gratification. Overall penetration and frequency of e-grocery, meanwhile, continues to grow as new legions of consumers latch onto the convenience.
Instacart, for example, plans to roll out 15-minute delivery in February, according to The Information, a significant boost from its current two-hour window. Insiders told the publication Instacart is seeking to partner with a courier provider that can make fast deliveries from the same grocery stores it currently services customers from.
The DoorDash offering is focusing on enabling local grocers, including hundreds of bodegas, offer their products in rapid fashion via the DoorDash marketplace. A new entity called DashCorps is hiring part-time and full-time couriers for $15 an hour plus tips to power the service. Employees will work set shifts averaging 20 hours a week, get assignments from an app and cover other duties like stocking and customer support, and be eligible for benefits.
DashMart, introduced in 2020, is a network of local convenience stores in about 40 cities offering household essentials and fare from local restaurants.
Deliveries will be within a smaller radius from the Chelsea DashMart, making trips short and routes more familiar for couriers. They will use e-bikes with a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour, and couriers will provide customer feedback on the experience.
“Since day one, we’ve believed in the importance of small business and ensuring that local merchants are set up to succeed, particularly as customers continue to move online,” DoorDash said in a blog post announcing the new program. “In New York City, we’re proud that over 400 local convenience stores/grocers are on our platform, connecting with new customers and growing their sales through delivery and other services we offer.”