Delivery service DoorDash is taking a page out of the Amazon playbook and creating standalone stores called DashMarts — physical locations where consumers can pick up “grocery, and restaurant items, from ice cream and chips, to cough medicine and dog food, to spice rubs and packaged desserts from the local restaurants you love on DoorDash.”
The company announced the initiative in a release.
While readers living in densely-populated urban areas like Brooklyn are familiar with these stores — called “bodegas” or “corner shops” — the DashMart is aiming at a different type of consumer who wants the frou-frou mixed with the mundane in an environment that, we assume, does not smell like cat litter and ham.
DashMarts will appear in Chicago, Minneapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dallas, Salt Lake City, the greater Phoenix area, and Redwood City, California. with upcoming shops in San Diego, Baltimore, Denver, Sacramento, and Concord, California. The interesting thing? None of these cities have a particularly vibrant corner store culture, thereby giving consumers walkable access to sundries.
The initial goal, at least, is noble. DashMarts will actively support and sell products from local businesses, according to DoorDash.
“Our mission is to connect customers to the best in their cities while helping any business on Main Street grow, and we hope to inspire even more local businesses — from restaurants and bakeries to artisanal shops and home goods retailers — to sell with us on DashMart,” wrote Andrew Ladd, director of new verticals at DoorDash.
“DoorDash has demonstrated a real commitment to our city by helping to drive sales and earning opportunities within the community, and we appreciate that DoorDash chose Tempe as a launch site for DashMart,” said Mayor Corey Woods of Tempe, hagiographically.
If you spot one of these, please drop me a line and tell us what you think.