DoorDash is positioning to be a much bigger part of the restaurant dining experience than just delivery.
The company on Monday unveiled a host of new services and technologies that have the potential to drive traffic to restaurants and make delivery more seamless, from the ability to book reservations in the DoorDash app, to a new automated delivery robot that promises to be a vast improvement on existing models.
The moves follow the acquisition earlier this year of SevenRooms for $1.2 billion, which brought the reservations and marketing provider into the DoorDash Commerce Platform. The addition of SevenRooms was designed to help restaurants build their in-store business.
But, fundamentally, the delivery provider is building a more-DoorDash-centric ecosphere by becoming more a part of the way guests and restaurants interact.
“Our approach into each one of these areas is to look at the technology and create products that solve real customer problems, whether that pertains to applying the latest techniques in AI or how we build autonomous technologies,” said DoorDash CEO Tony Xu at a Dash Forward launch event in San Francisco on Monday. “We have graduated from being a single restaurant delivery marketplace in the United States into a multi-product, multi-category, global business, creating the future of local commerce.”
DoorDash is not only building a future with restaurants.
The logistics company also announced an expansion of its delivery partnership with Kroger. Starting Oct. 1, users can order groceries for delivery from more than 2,700 Kroger stores across the U.S. It was a partnership that started with flowers and sushi, but now soon will include all manner of grocery products.
Still, though the grocery and retail side is growing, restaurants remain the largest revenue generator for DoorDash. And that’s a partnership the company hopes to grow more rapidly with the features unveiled this week.
Ultimately, it means restaurant operators will have a lot more to negotiate as they work through the options for tools beyond delivery with DoorDash.
Here's more of what’s coming:
Reservations and rewards
Soon consumers across the country will be able to book restaurant reservations using the DoorDash app or website, without any fee.
In addition, users will also be able to find deals and promotions for ordering in-store at restaurants on the DoorDash marketplace, using a “Going Out” tab.
And consumers will be able to earn rewards by booking through DoorDash.
So if diners book through the app four times in a row, for example, they might get a credit or a certain amount of dollars back.
The type of discount will likely vary. Some restaurants might offer a buy-one, get-one offer, for example.
But DoorDash will look mostly for restaurants to offer credits, because that’s the “most seamless,” said Parisa Sadrzadah, DoorDash’s vice president of strategy and operations.
If, for example, a coffee shop was participating and a guest claimed a $10 reward through the DoorDash app for an order in-store, the restaurant would pay the credit to that customer—though, for a while, DoorDash will fund the promotions to get restaurants started.
It's a compelling way to drive traffic, said Sadrzadah.
And restaurants don’t have to use DoorDash for booking exclusively. They can continue to use other reservation systems. It just gives DoorDash users the option, Sadrzadah said.
However, members of DoorDash’s DashPass loyalty program (there are about 22 million globally), will have exclusive access to tables at in-demand restaurants. (They can also get discounted Lyft rides to the restaurant, in partnership with DoorDash.)
And, for restaurants using SevenRooms currently, more advantages will be unlocked as data is integrated to offer a clearer picture of the guest using the platform—from that person’s dining preferences, to whether they’ve ordered from the restaurant in the past, said Sadrzadah.
The rewards for in-store dining are available in about 12 cities in the U.S. and Australia. The ability to book reservations will start in Miami in a few weeks, followed by New York City. It will expand across the U.S. next year.
Now with video
Restaurants on the DoorDash marketplace will soon be able to post video, rather than just pictures, to drive traffic to their websites.
Restaurants can post their own videos, but the DoorDash app will also work with social media influencers to tap into their content (and fan base).
“Video is a beautiful and powerful way to turn browsing into ordering,” said Shanna Prevé, DoorDash’s vice president of strategic partnerships and business development. “It really brings more texture to the experience.”
And DoorDash is now partnering with Yelp to allow users to move from the review platform to DoorDash ordering for delivery at the tap of a button.
Improving order accuracy
Already in about 10,000 restaurants—but now being unveiled for the first time—is new hardware DoorDash calls the SmartScale. There is no cost to restaurants for the hardware or installation, the company said, but it solves a big problem that can save money.
It’s literally a scale connected to the DoorDash ordering platform that can recognize whether anything is missing from a delivery order based on the weight of the bag.
The DoorDash SmartScale is already nationwide at Panera Bread and Wendys. | Photo courtesy of DoorDash
The goal is to improve accuracy. When an order comes in, the restaurant worker prepares the order for pickup. Before passing it to the delivery driver, or Dasher, the restaurant worker can put the bag on the scale. The scale will be able to immediately recognize whether, for example, the guacamole was forgotten, or a drink or dessert.
The most important metrics for delivery satisfaction are speed and accuracy, according to a recent report by Intouch Insight with Restaurant Business.
The SmartScale helps improve both metrics. It also saves restaurants the cost of rectifying mistakes when something goes missing, said Prevé.
SmartScales are already being used nationwide by some chains, like Panera Bread and Wendy’s, Prevé said.
Robots and drones
Perhaps the most visually appealing element of DoorDash’s future is the launch of a delivery robot unlike any other.
DoorDash unveiled the adorable red Dot, an automated delivery robot that looks like Pac Man had a baby with a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
DoorDash's new Dot robot can drive on roads at up to 20 miles per hour. | Photo courtesy of DoorDash
Most delivery robots are designed to operate on sidewalks. The Dot, however, is designed to go on roads, bike paths, through parking lots and up driveways.
It’s more like a robotaxi, or Waymo, than a delivery robot, said Stanley Tang, co-founder of DoorDash and head of DoorDash Labs.
It can travel up to 20 miles per hour and hold up to 30 pounds, about the size of six large pizza boxes.
It’s unclear, however, whether the Dots will require some kind of permit or regulation to travel on public roads, as is required in some states for driverless cars.
DoorDash is currently using Dots in the Tempe and Mesa, Arizona, area, and soon they will be in greater Phoenix. Tang said no permits were required there. As the Dots move to new markets, Tang said the company would address that issue as it comes up.
DoorDash is also testing drone delivery in some markets. Tang said DoorDash is moving toward a more “hybrid, multi-modal” network that will include human Dashers, working alongside the autonomous Dots and drones (“Wings,” in DoorDash parlance) to move food (groceries and other goods) from points A to B.
With this future in mind, the SmartScale also will help restaurant staffers pack delivery orders with the vehicle in mind.
If a drone is picking up, for example, the SmartScale would know how much weight it could handle and might suggest two bags, for example, or other modifications to ensure the food travels safely.
AI is taking over some tasks
DoorDash had tested AI-powered phone order taking for about two years before scrapping the initiative in May. At the time, the company said it was planning to deploy the technology elsewhere.
Now we know how.
DoorDash is tapping AI to help restaurants manage large party bookings and events, for example.
In addition, users of the DoorDash app will see more AI-curated picks designed to appeal to their specific dietary needs, past order history or tastes.
AI will also generate tags for restaurant dishes or grocery ingredients, like “vegetarian” or “high-protein,” for users to filter their searches.
For users buying groceries, a “complement your cart” feature might suggest things that might round out a recipe. If a shopper looks like he or she is buying ingredients for guacamole, for example, it might suggest that red onion is needed.
Finally, DoorDash is upgrading the platform used by Dashers with better maps, “flash offer” pay promotions for certain deliveries, and a home screen that makes it easier to get online and track earnings.
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