DoorDash Takes a Page From Amazon’s Book With Deals Event

Looking to deliver an increase in membership revenue, DoorDash is taking a tip from mega-retailers such as Amazon and Walmart and launching its own deals event for members, Summer of DashPass.

Unlike Prime Day or Walmart+ Weekend, which each last just a couple of days, DoorDash’s event, announced Monday (July 18) and kicking off Thursday (July 21), lasts five weeks, with a series of different offers on different weeks. For instance, the aggregator is offering members of its DashPass program a buy one, get one free deal at Chipotle the first week, and it is offering 30% off alcohol orders the second.

“During last year’s Summer of DashPass event, DashPass members saved over $4 million on deals and we’re proud to partner with national and local businesses to provide access to more than $40 million in exclusive savings this year,” DoorDash President Christopher Payne said in the announcement. “Our largest Summer of DashPass yet will bring even more value to our members to save on essential items from groceries to school supplies and beyond.”

The move comes as businesses seek to drive adoption of their subscription and membership offerings, which in turn serve to drive loyalty in the face of stiff competition. When it comes to restaurant aggregators, for instance, there is not a huge amount of difference, on consumers’ side, between DoorDash and Grubhub and Uber Eats, aside from the different restaurants available on each platform. By getting customers engaged with its membership offerings, DoorDash can secure its place as their go-to aggregator.

Additionally, deal day events can be effective at driving food and beverage sales. Research from PYMNTS’ recent study, “Walmart+ Weekend: Prime Rival or Trip to the Grocery Store?,” noted that 57% of Walmart+ Weekend 2022 shoppers made a grocery purchase during the event.

Read the full report: The Ongoing Battle for Consumer Retail Spend: Amazon Versus Walmart Q1 2022: The Grocery Wild Card

Additionally, the study, which drew from a June survey of nearly 2,900 consumers, including 2,055 Amazon Prime subscribers and 1,047 Walmart+ subscribers, of which 668 respondents participated in Walmart+ Weekend in June, found that 24% of last year’s Prime Day shoppers did the same.

Granted, it may not be the best time to be in the subscriptions and memberships business, as many consumers, in the face of rapid inflation, are hitting unsubscribe. Research from the latest edition of PYMNTS’ “Subscription Commerce Conversion Index,” created in collaboration with sticky.io, which draws from a survey of over 2,100 consumers and more than 200 subscription commerce merchants, finds that, as of May, the average U.S. consumer now has 3.9 retail subscriptions. This figure is down from 4.1 in March 2022 and 5.0 in October 2021.

Get the report: Subscription Commerce Conversion Index

For food-and-beverage-based subscriptions to hold their own in today’s competitive market, the study finds, they need to offer flexibility, meeting consumers’ individual needs. In fact, 70% of food and beverage merchants offer product customization options to subscribers, and 87% offering multiple plans when subscribing. While the former may be less relevant to a third-party aggregator such as DoorDash, which peddles in fulfillment rather than the products themselves, the need for flexibility is key, especially when consumers have so many options.

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