DoorDash Launches Partnership With Grocery Chain Ahold Delhaize

DoorDash has launched a new delivery agreement with grocery group Ahold Delhaize.

The partnership makes an additional on-demand grocery delivery marketplace available to customers of Ahold brands like Food Lion, Giant and Stop & Shop, with service expected to be available to customers of all its brands by March.

“The addition of DoorDash as a marketplace partner for our companies is very exciting,” Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman said in a Wednesday (Feb. 7) news release announcing the partnership.

“The speed and ease of DoorDash and its strong reputation for providing great customer service aligns with the priorities of each of our local brands. We look forward to delivering this new option for customers of our local brands — as well as new customers through DoorDash — and leveraging this partnership to enable our brands as they continue to drive omnichannel growth.”

According to the release, DoorDash is available in nearly all markets served by Ahold Delhaize USA brands, and the service is already live for most customers of its stores Giant Food, the Giant Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. Food Lion will pilot with DoorDash this month and expects to launch in its markets in March.

“Through the new partnership, the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) will add to the 100,000+ non-restaurant stores already on DoorDash’s Marketplace and Drive platforms across North America,” the release said.

In addition, the ADUSA stores’ loyalty programs are integrated into DoorDash, and all participating stores will also be available on DashPass, DoorDash’s membership program.

The partnership comes at a time when, as PYMNTS wrote last month, “merchants are tapping digital deals to drive omnichannel adoption, and in turn to boost customers’ lifetime value” as consumers find their grocery budgets stretched.

Across the grocery industry, key players see the importance of digital offers. A PYMNTS Intelligence study, “Big Retail’s Innovation Mandate: Convenience and Personalization,” found that 74% of grocers think consumers would be very or extremely likely to switch merchants if not offered the ability to use digital coupons and rewards.

Additional research has shown that shoppers who receive coupons are more likely to have a positive experience and become repeat customers.

“As we look across the basket, we for sure see that our omnichannel customers spend more,” ADUSA’s Fleeman said in September.

“They are more loyal, they’re more engaged, and it says that’s really kind of what they want and what they’re interested in from us. … Our omnichannel experience is what we’re really focused on, and we’re really making some good improvements there.”