DoorDash adds money support, but not in its main app
Restaurant delivery service DoorDash today announced that it will begin offering customers the option to pay cash for their online orders. But there's a catch — the feature is only rolling out to DoorDash's white-label delivery solution for restaurants, DoorDash Drive, which allows restaurant owners to offer delivery from their own website or app while leveraging DoorDash's messaging network. The company says that during testing, Chinese restaurants and pizzerias were the first to adopt the feature.
In fact, when enabled, nearly 20% of U.S. pizza orders fulfilled through its DoorDash Drive solution were paid for in cash, the company said.
The cash payment option is for customers who may not be comfortable sharing their payment card information online and prefer to use cash as well as for underbanked people who don't have may not have access to online payment options. Despite the rise of e-commerce and digital payments, there is still a significant demographic that continues to use cash, when possible. Other tech giants and retailers in the US, such as PayPal, Walmart, and Amazon, have also targeted this market over the past few years by offering ways to buy online and then pay in cash.
>Drivers often prefer cash payments, as they can return home the same evening with tips that can be spent immediately, rather than having to wait for a bank transfer. Additionally, DoorDash says drivers can keep the full amount of the tip — they don't have to commit to a tip split with the restaurant or delivery company itself. For this reason, some customers also prefer to tip cash, as they know their driver will receive the full amount of the tip, which is not always the case with online ordering and delivery services.
>DoorDash says Dashers will need to opt in to start accepting the new cash on delivery option, but can opt out at any time without affecting their ratings. Ahead of its public debut today, 75% of DoorDash's US Dashers have chosen to accept cash orders and nearly 500,000 have made at least one cash delivery in the past year. The service has been tested for over a year ahead of today's official nationwide launch.
However, despite interest in cash payments, DoorDash said it does not enable a cash option in its own app, noting that customers expect to pay with a credit card when 'they order directly from DoorDash itself.
We understand that although DoorDash Drive charges a fixed delivery fee per order with no commission, cash on delivery orders may have an "incremental" cost per order.
The company also said it reiterated feedback from restaurant partners, particularly pizza chains where speed of ordering is key. Among the improvements, DoorDash focuses on better delivery times and accuracy and ensures Dashers have pizza hot bags for their orders. (Currently, only three-quarters of pizza deliveries use pizza-specific Hot Bags, DoorDash admitted). DoorDash added that it is working to improve communication tools for operators and drivers and give restaurants a way to send order updates to customers via text.
The changes follow a number of other new features for DoorDash customers and drivers across its core apps, including security features, a package return option, bulk orders, as well as a expanded partnership with Starbucks, among others.
Restaurant delivery service DoorDash today announced that it will begin offering customers the option to pay cash for their online orders. But there's a catch — the feature is only rolling out to DoorDash's white-label delivery solution for restaurants, DoorDash Drive, which allows restaurant owners to offer delivery from their own website or app while leveraging DoorDash's messaging network. The company says that during testing, Chinese restaurants and pizzerias were the first to adopt the feature.
In fact, when enabled, nearly 20% of U.S. pizza orders fulfilled through its DoorDash Drive solution were paid for in cash, the company said.
The cash payment option is for customers who may not be comfortable sharing their payment card information online and prefer to use cash as well as for underbanked people who don't have may not have access to online payment options. Despite the rise of e-commerce and digital payments, there is still a significant demographic that continues to use cash, when possible. Other tech giants and retailers in the US, such as PayPal, Walmart, and Amazon, have also targeted this market over the past few years by offering ways to buy online and then pay in cash.
>Drivers often prefer cash payments, as they can return home the same evening with tips that can be spent immediately, rather than having to wait for a bank transfer. Additionally, DoorDash says drivers can keep the full amount of the tip — they don't have to commit to a tip split with the restaurant or delivery company itself. For this reason, some customers also prefer to tip cash, as they know their driver will receive the full amount of the tip, which is not always the case with online ordering and delivery services.
>DoorDash says Dashers will need to opt in to start accepting the new cash on delivery option, but can opt out at any time without affecting their ratings. Ahead of its public debut today, 75% of DoorDash's US Dashers have chosen to accept cash orders and nearly 500,000 have made at least one cash delivery in the past year. The service has been tested for over a year ahead of today's official nationwide launch.
However, despite interest in cash payments, DoorDash said it does not enable a cash option in its own app, noting that customers expect to pay with a credit card when 'they order directly from DoorDash itself.
We understand that although DoorDash Drive charges a fixed delivery fee per order with no commission, cash on delivery orders may have an "incremental" cost per order.
The company also said it reiterated feedback from restaurant partners, particularly pizza chains where speed of ordering is key. Among the improvements, DoorDash focuses on better delivery times and accuracy and ensures Dashers have pizza hot bags for their orders. (Currently, only three-quarters of pizza deliveries use pizza-specific Hot Bags, DoorDash admitted). DoorDash added that it is working to improve communication tools for operators and drivers and give restaurants a way to send order updates to customers via text.
The changes follow a number of other new features for DoorDash customers and drivers across its core apps, including security features, a package return option, bulk orders, as well as a expanded partnership with Starbucks, among others.
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