DoorDash, already the largest delivery provider in the country, wants to be even bigger.
Toward that end, the San Francisco-based company announced this week it will add restaurant reservations and robot deliveries in various U.S. markets.
DoorDash officials say they want to bring even more business to its merchant partners and stay ahead of ever-increasing customer demand. DoorDash’s total orders jumped 20% to 761 million in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from The Associated Press.
DoorDash’s robots will bring new challenges to the company as it takes on the responsibility for storing and maintaining the devices. DoorDash Co-Founder Stanley Tang said the company needs more delivery options to help fuel its future growth.
“The shift to autonomy is happening right now, and DoorDash is uniquely positioned to do something like this,” Tang told the AP Monday during an interview at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. “We need to find ways to keep up with the demand. The complexity of the deliveries being made on our platform is increasing, too.”
Still, investors appeared lukewarm about the company’s plans. DoorDash shares fell 1% Tuesday, according to the AP report.
DoorDash’s plans also threaten other delivery and reservation platforms like OpenTable and Instacart. On Monday, after DoorDash said it would expand its partnership with Kroger to offer delivery from the grocer’s 2,700 U.S. stores, Instacart’s shares fell 10%.
DoorDash said Tuesday that its new “Going Out” tab will let users book tables at restaurants. Reservations will be offered first in New York and Miami, with other cities to be added later this year. In cities without restaurant reservation capabilities, the “Going Out” tab will let DoorDash customers earn rewards and in-store offers, the AP reported.
DoorDash said its DashPass members – who pay $9.99 for free deliveries on most orders – will also get extra perks, like the ability to reserve exclusive tables.
DoorDash also said Tuesday it will soon begin providing some deliveries in the greater Phoenix area with an autonomous robot, the AP reported. The robot, which was designed by DoorDash and is dubbed Dot, can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour and travel on streets, sidewalks and driveways.
The company said it could also use its own data to optimize the robot.
“After 10 billion deliveries, we have data on what works, what breaks and what scales,” Tang, who leads DoorDash’s autonomy and robotics division, told the AP.
