DoorDash won’t deliver Walmart’s groceries starting next month

DoorDash is calling off its partnership with Walmart, which had the service delivering groceries and other goods from the retail chain to customers for over four years, according to a report from Insider. A source close to the situation told Insider that DoorDash notified Walmart about its decision earlier this month, citing that the partnership “was no longer mutually beneficial” and that it wants to “focus on its long-term customer relationships.”

DoorDash reportedly gave Walmart a 30-day notice, which means the partnership will officially end in September. The two companies first teamed up in 2018 when Walmart started testing having groceries ordered through its site delivered by DoorDash. It went live in Atlanta, Georgia to start, but has since expanded to several other states.

“We have agreed to part ways with DoorDash,” Walmart spokesperson Leigh Stidham said in an emailed statement to The Verge. “We’d like to thank DoorDash for their partnership and support of our customers the past several years.” DoorDash didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

It’s unclear whether DoorDash will offer deliveries from Walmart via its app, though. DoorDash currently doesn’t let you order from Walmart, presumably to avoid any conflicts with the service it offers through Walmart’s website. DoorDash rival Instacart, on the other hand, offers same-day deliveries from Walmart in some areas.

DoorDash and Walmart’s split isn’t all that surprising. Walmart has been busy building out its own delivery service platform, Spark, which hands off grocery deliveries to its own database of gig workers, similar to the way Lyft and Uber operate. Walmart told Insider that Spark accounts for 75 percent of its deliveries and services 84 percent of households in the US. Last year, Walmart also announced that it’s also working on a white label delivery service, called GoLocal, to handle last-mile logistics and deliveries for other businesses.

And while DoorDash is axing its partnership with Walmart, it has forged a new one with Facebook. The service will now pick up and deliver items purchased through Facebook Marketplace, so long as they’re small enough to fit inside the trunk of a car. DoorDash also works with stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy’s to offer customers same-day deliveries.

Update August 20th, 3:08PM ET: Updated to add a statement from a Walmart spokesperson.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/20/23314257/doordash-walmart-groceries-end-partnership-deliveries