Walgreens kicks off last-mile delivery with DoorDash

Drugstore giant Walgreens has launched on-demand delivery, including food, with last-mile delivery provide DoorDash.

The service got under way yesterday at Walgreens stores in Chicago, Atlanta and Denver. Customers in those markets can order online from more than 2,300 Walgreens convenience, consumable, and health and wellness items via the DoorDash mobile app and website.

Plans call for Walgreens and DoorDash to expand delivery service by the end of this summer to more major markets, beginning with Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle, the companies said. The selection also will be more than doubled to over 5,000 items.

“Our collaboration with DoorDash is the latest example of our ongoing focus on enhancing our customer experience with new convenient, accessible and safe shopping and delivery options,” Stefanie Kruse, vice president of digital commerce and omnichannel at Walgreens, said in a statement. “We continue to offer additional ways to get essential retail products into the hands of customers at their door stoop or wherever and whenever is most convenient for them.”  

In the Chicago, Atlanta and Denver areas, Walgreens products available for DoorDash delivery include selected over-the-counter medicines, beauty care, household staples, groceries and snacks.

Related:CVS taps DoorDash for same-day delivery of groceries and non-Rx items

DoorDash recently has been expanding its delivery platform into the convenience retail space, including with CVS Pharmacy, 7-Eleven, WaWa and Casey’s General Stores.

Walgreens noted that it’s also available on DoorDash’s subscription service DashPass, which offers unlimited free delivery and reduced service fees from hundreds of thousands of local and national businesses. Walgreens customers enrolling in DashPass can get the program’s benefits for orders of $12 or more.

To support the launch with Walgreens, DoorDash is offering shoppers 20% off Walgreens items bought via the DoorDash app or website for their first order of $15 or more, up to a $5 maximum savings.

Overall, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens operates nearly 9,300 drug stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By consumables sales, Walgreens stands at No. 11 on the 2020 Supermarket News Top 75 Retailers & Wholesalers list, and the company is No. 6 by store count.

“We’re thrilled to announce our collaboration with Walgreens to make convenience items more accessible to the local communities we serve,” stated Fuad Hannon, head of new verticals at DoorDash. “Walgreens offers an unmatched assortment of health and beauty, grocery and convenience essentials, and we look forward to continuing our growth beyond food to offer millions of Americans access to thousands of Walgreens items on-demand. In light of the ongoing [COVID-19] crisis, we will continue to provide customers with access to the supplies they need to maintain a well-cared for and healthy at-home environment.”

Related:Wegmans launches meal delivery with DoorDash

The deal with Walgreens makes San Francisco-based DoorDash a delivery partner for the two largest U.S. drug chains.

In mid-June, DoorDash and CVS Pharmacy unveiled an agreement for same-day delivery of food, grocery, nonfood and non-prescription products. Items that can be ordered include non-perishable and perishable groceries such as milk, breakfast bars, mixed nuts, cereal and packaged cookies; health and beauty aids like shampoo, hair accessories, makeup and nail care; household products such as batteries, cleaning wipes and paper towels; and over-the-counter medications like pain relievers, cold and flu care, and children’s remedies.

DoorDash also noted that the collaborations with Walgreens and CVS reflect the recent expansion of its delivery platform into the convenience retail arena, including such partners as 7-Eleven, WaWa and Casey’s General Stores.