Dive Brief:
- DoorDash has expanded its drone delivery partnership with Wing to Charlotte, North Carolina, DoorDash said in a Wednesday press release.
- Eligible DoorDash customers living within four miles of The Arboretum Shopping Center in southern Charlotte can receive drone delivery from a variety of local and national restaurants, including Matcha Cafe Maiko, Joa Korean food and Panera, the first national brand in the city to offer drone delivery. DoorDash is also offering drone delivery from its local delivery-only convenience store, DashMart.
- The expansion comes over a year after DoorDash and Wing piloted drone delivery from a Wendy’s in Christiansburg, Virginia. Late last year, the two brought drone delivery to two Dallas-Fort Worth malls owned by Brookfield Properties. The two firms have offered drone delivery in various regions in Australia since 2022.
Dive Insight:
DoorDash has been working on automated delivery with drones or sidewalk vehicles for several years through its DoorDash Labs. The company says the technology can enhance the customer experience and drive more demand for local merchants. DoorDash works with Coco Robotics to offer sidewalk delivery in Chicago and Los Angeles. The automated forms of delivery are “reinforcing its commitment to building a multi-modal delivery platform designed to support the fastest and most efficient deliveries possible,” the company said in the press release.
Since the start of their partnership, Wing and DoorDash say they have completed tens of thousands of deliveries, according to the press release. Customers can access drone delivery by ordering through the app, where they will see a drone icon on the homepage of the app. Tapping on that icon will lead to a list of eligible restaurants. If the order meets size and weight criteria, they can select drone delivery at checkout. Upon confirmation of their location, customers can track the drone as it approaches.
“With Charlotte as the newest addition, both companies remain focused on meeting high consumer demand while helping local merchants meet customers’ expectations of convenience, selection, and speed,” the press release said.
Automated delivery may make small and short distance deliveries more affordable — by reducing labor and energy costs — and other delivery providers have been adding the service over the past few years. Uber has established partnerships with Serve, Coco and Cartken for sidewalk bots and Waymo for automated car delivery. Grubhub also works with sidewalk bots, but mainly for college and university deliveries.
