Editor's take: It's still early days for on-demand food delivery services but if concepts like virtual convenience stores take off, traditional e-commerce giants such as Amazon might have to rethink how they conduct business. Ultimately, it'll be up for the market to decide how this plays out and really, we won't have a genuine idea of the sustainability of services like this until the pandemic blows over.
DoorDash is further expanding into the convenience category. The on-demand food delivery service, which dipped its toes into the essential household products category earlier this year as the pandemic gripped the globe, announced a new channel on Wednesday called DashMart.
In essence, DashMart is a virtual convenience store that sells grocery, convenience and restaurant items. The stores are owned, operated and curated by DoorDash but populated with products sourced from local partners.
It sounds like a win-win for everyone involved. DoorDash partners get another distribution channel for their merchandise, which could boost sales and awareness for their brand. DoorDash customers now have access to an even wider selection of products and of course, DoorDash itself is also profiting from the venture. And with more goods going out to customers, more delivery drivers are needed, creating additional job opportunities for local economies.
DashMart is already live in eight cities: Minneapolis, Columbus, Dallas, Cincinnati, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Redwood City and the Phoenix area. DoorDash said it plans to launch in several other cities in the coming months including Baltimore, Denver, Sacramento, San Diego and Concord, CA.
Masthead credit: Michael Vi