FORT WAYNE, Ind.—DoorDash is opening a DashMart in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports WANE. The convenience store arm of DoorDash will be a delivery and pickup only convenience store and is not open to public walk-ins.
The Fort Wayne DashMart the first location in Indiana outside of Indianapolis. There are more than three dozen DashMart locations across the U.S., with top delivery locations in Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Nashville and Washington, D.C., among others.
DoorDash launched DashMart in August 2020 in eight test cities. Last December, DoorDash announced 10- to 15-minute deliveries to customers in New York City through DashCorps, a new DoorDash company that hires full- and part-time employees, which is different than DoorDash’s traditional business model that relies on gig workers. DashCorps employees will reportedly earn $15 an hour plus tips and can qualify for benefits. Other delivery startups that offer fast delivery credit their use of employees rather than gig workers for their ability to offer such speedy service.
Ultra-fast delivery companies are displacing trips to convenience stores, gas stations and small supermarkets in some metropolitan markets because of their quick delivery speeds—and the fact that products are delivered to a customer’s location with the touch of button. These companies are built on the theory that there is no such thing as too fast when it comes to delivery.
Gopuff is specifically targeting the convenience-store customer with its virtual on-demand convenience store. The company aims to provide its customers with a wider and more eclectic range of products than they’d find in a convenience store, and it delivers orders to customers in 30 minutes or less. Gopuff recently launched its own line of private-label products called Basically.
In order to meet the customer’s need for delivery, many convenience stores are turning to third-party delivery providers, but partnering with these companies comes at a cost. According to NACS’ “Last Mile Fulfillment in Convenience Retail” report, only 61% of retailers are satisfied with their third-party delivery partners. Concerns include high fees, little access to consumer data, difficulties delivering age-restricted products and service and operational issues. Read more about these challenges and what c-stores are doing to make delivery work for their businesses in “Delivering Convenience” in the December 2021 issue of NACS Magazine.