Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash
DoorDash Expands Beauty Delivery Partnerships and Ventures Into Drone Delivery
DoorDash, the local delivery commerce platform, has revealed new alliances with Sally Beauty and M·A·C Cosmetics, alongside an enhanced collaboration with Sephora. This move expands the array of beauty products available for on-demand delivery, bringing convenience straight to consumers’ doorsteps.
Shanna Prevé, vice president of partnerships at DoorDash, emphasized the evolving trend of consumers exploring diverse retail categories through the platform. With a focus on meeting the rising demand for convenience and variety, DoorDash aims to facilitate seamless connections between consumers and renowned brands like Sally Beauty and M·A·C Cosmetics.
“We see consumers ordering from retail categories more than ever before and trying out new categories earlier in their DoorDash journey. As consumers have higher demand and expectations for convenience and selection, we’re thrilled to connect merchant partners, like Sally Beauty and M·A·C, with people in new ways and unlock potential additional revenue. For consumers, we remain hyper-focused on providing unparalleled speed and service to meet their everyday needs whether it’s the last-minute beauty essentials or the viral must-have new products.”
Shanna Prevé, Vice President of Partnerships at DoorDash
The addition of Sally Beauty to DoorDash’s network presents an opportunity for customers to access professional-quality hair, skin, and nail products from over 2,000 stores across the U.S. To mark this partnership, DoorDash is offering a promotional $0 delivery fee at all Sally Beauty stores until May 31, 2024.
DoorDash is also set to enhance its collaboration with Sephora, allowing Beauty Insider members to participate in exclusive sale events.
Since introducing beauty on-demand in 2021, DoorDash has expanded its product catalog to include over 400,000 beauty and personal care items. Consumers rely on DoorDash to fulfill their everyday needs conveniently, whether it’s restocking essentials or indulging in trending products.
All Sally Beauty and M·A·C Cosmetics stores will be accessible through DashPass, DoorDash’s membership program, which offers benefits like $0 delivery fees.
Furthermore, DoorDash has decided to expand its services by rolling out drone delivery in the United States.
In a small town called Christiansburg, Virginia, DoorDash is teaming up with tech company Wing to test drone delivery for fast food. Christiansburg, with its population of about 22,600, is about to be the guinea pig for this modern delivery method. Wing, which is owned by Google, isn’t new to the drone game. The company has been delivering goods for Walmart in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Right now, only one Wendy’s location in Christiansburg is part of the test. And for consumers who want their meals to arrive via drone, they’ll need to select that option in the DoorDash app when they check out. DoorDash says the drones typically drop off the meals in 30 minutes or less.
This isn’t DoorDash’s first dance with drones. The company launched a drone delivery pilot program with Wing in Australia in 2022, and it has expanded to over 60 merchants across three areas in Queensland.
According to Cosimo Leipold, Wing’s head of partnerships, the success in Australia paved the way for this U.S. trial run. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Some residents in Australia have complained about the noise these drones make. It’s like having a “swarm of mosquitoes” in your ear, one man said.
However, others seemed more positive about the new delivery method, with one resident noting during an interview that “he’d already received six drone orders that day alone.”
The question now is how the U.S. pilot will fare. According to DoorDash, “The pilot will initially be available in Christiansburg with plans to explore other cities in the U.S. later this year.”
Discussion Questions
How do partnerships between delivery platforms like DoorDash and retailers such as Sally Beauty and M·A·C Cosmetics reshape traditional retail models?
What are the potential socio-economic impacts of DoorDash’s drone delivery trials, particularly in local communities like Christiansburg, Virginia?
What strategies can industry leaders adopt to maximize the benefits of such alliances and services amid shifting consumer preferences?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Gene Detroyer
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
Mark Ryski
Founder, CEO & Author, HeadCount Corporation
I see two industries being revolutionized by this The first is drone manufacturers. The second is bankruptcy lawyers. Beauty? Naw…
I am at the bar drinking my morning coffee and laughing out loud. With few words, you have said it all.
I have nothing to add because that is perfect.
This is a very real test. But I’m not a fan. Call me a skeptic, but no one is going to want drones constantly buzzing around. Christiansburg will be a very interesting case to watch. These folks know that the world is watching and if this proves to be too annoying or unmanageable, it will get shut down and that will compromise/stunt further experimentation. But no doubt there will be more and are more drone tests going on now. There’s been too much invested in this space for players to walk away. And if someone does figure it out, it could be worth a lot…but even if you could get past all the ‘drone’ issues, I still question if there is enough consumer demand for this service. Call me a skeptic.
DoorDash pushing into beauty is somewhat logical in that it’s another channel for distribution and delivery for that category, and it gives DoorDash more strings to its bow. While a lot of beauty is about indulgence, which is often best served in-person, a reasonable slice is replenishment purchasing and a fraction of that can be defined as an urgent purchase. It is this slice where quick delivery is valuable. That said, DoorDash made losses of over half a billion dollars last year, so its model is and remains questionable, As for drones, my view remains as it has always been: interesting, but niche…
As we have seen over the years, the more reasons we give consumers not to go to a store, the more they will take advantage of these delivery services.
But the long-term problem is that if the customers and retailers paid enough fees to make the delivery services (Uber, DoorDash, Seamless, GrubHub, et al.) profitable, I’m not sure people would continue to use them. Perhaps drones are the answer to the very flawed business model. By the way, Alibaba and JD.Com have been using drones for rural delivery since 2017.
I’ll keep this in mind for my beauty emergency needs…not.
I wonder what kind of critical mass DoorDash needs to be able to approach break-even, much less profitability…??? Or what kind of critical mass + membership fees…??? Or delivery fees that people will actually pay?
My favorite part of this article is the reference to “$0 delivery fees”. I love the avoidance of the word “free”. Delivery is not free, it’s pre-paid. I am thrilled that the word “free” has specifically not been used. It’s a small step for mankind.
These partnerships cater to consumer urgency and impulse. This retail model delights consumers by uniting beauty brands’ and DoorDash’s respective strengths of quality products and fast logistics. It also deepens loyalty by dazzling consumers with speed, convenience and exclusive offers.
If and when drone regulations expand, more jobs will demand elevated skill sets to support drone strategies. Technologies rather than humans may emerge as the face of logistics for categories with urgent demand for small, light products like grocery, pharmacy and healthcare.
DoorDash might want to address issues with restaurant owners before they venture into beauty. SeveraI I know are seeing bogus DoorDash charge backs on food, ultimately torpedoing restaurant owner trust in the operation. I’m skeptical in the upside for beauty product by drone when Amazon, Nordstrom, and Sephora are finding ways of addressing timely delivery and pick-up as part of the customer experience.
It’s not expressly clear if MAC, Sephora and Sally Beauty customers can earn their loyalty points via Door-Dash but, if so, this could be a game-changer. Fashionistas will appreciate having these mega beauty brands on demand when you need to get the look just right and there is no time to run to a store. DoorDash is off to a beautiful start for 2024!