Photo by:Griffin Wooldridge
By: Nick Gambino
DoorDash is now testing its ultra-fast grocery and convenience delivery service DashMart in New York City. These deliveries will make it to the customer in 10 to 15 minutes. It’s not clear how much of the city is being serviced but it looks like it’s only a portion of Manhattan. You can’t really guarantee that kind of super-fast delivery window in Queens or The Bronx unless you set up a physical location in those boroughs.
“To start, deliveries in 10-15 minutes will be offered from a DashMart location in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, with more locations coming over the next few months in New York and other cities,” A DoorDash blog post announcing the launch said.
Deliveries will be made from a brick-and-mortar location in Chelsea, but that doesn’t mean they’re only servicing Chelsea. I’m guessing they’ve worked out a radius that allows DashMart delivery people to make it in 15 minutes or less.
One of the ways DashMart differs from the normal DoorDash service you’re used to is that they’re not relying on freelance or independent contractors to deliver groceries. That’s been the model for most delivery-based apps including PostMates and Uber Eats. All DashMart “deliverers” are employees, the only way to guarantee such a tight delivery window.
“Achieving ultra-fast delivery times inherently requires more structure and organization to ensure orders are fulfilled quickly and merchant and customer expectations are met,” the blog post reads. “As a result, DashMart deliveries will be powered by DashCops, which will hire local employees who will be paid an hourly wage starting at $15 per hour plus tips, and qualifying employees will receive benefits that traditionally come with employment, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Programs, Flexible Spending Accounts and commuter benefits, among others.”
DashCorps employees will operate as traditional uniformed employees with more traditional functions and accountability but of course with less independence. People have a choice as to whether they want to keep “dashing” as an independent contractor or become a full-fledged employee with security and benefits.
DashMart was originally launched in August 2020 in a total of eight cities but with one key difference: they didn’t have a physical base from which to take care of delivery orders. Chelsea is the first of its kind and a glimpse into how DashMart plans to operate going forward.
