DoorDash will enter the Auckland market on July 5. Photo / Supplied
Sit tight home delivery fans - DoorDash is knocking on Auckland’s door.
The San Francisco-based food delivery service is launching in Auckland, understood to be on July 5, after a successful year in Wellington and Christchurch.
The US giant will join Ubereats and New Zealand-based Delivereasy and Menulog to provide competition in the Auckland home delivery market.
There are more than 388 eateries registered with DoorDash in Christchurch and 345 in Wellington including the usual fast-food options as well as small local restaurants.
“After successfully launching in Wellington and Christchurch, DoorDash is excited to announce that we’re expanding to Auckland this winter,” the company said.
“We’re stoked to be able to serve more Dashers, customers and merchants across New Zealand and continue to build on existing relationships with merchants like Burger Wisconsin, Hell Pizza, and Tank Juice.”
Uber Eats launched in 2017 in Auckland and is now in all cities and 57 towns in New Zealand.
New Zealand-owned Delivereasy still has the largest geographical cover in New Zealand. It has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and six millionth order.
New Zealand reviews for the service are mainly favourable but the prices are inflated compared to those in store.
Restaurant Association head Marisa Bidois said it was always positive to have more options in the food delivery space but she urged consumers to be mindful of costs, not only for themselves but for businesses.
“The industry welcomes technology that can help bring more awareness and revenue to our establishments and this space is becoming competitive In Auckland,” she said.
“However, what we are always mindful of is the cost to the business of using sites like these. These costs can eat into a restaurant’s profit margin and with margins typically between 4-7 per cent in the industry there is often not much left over.”
She said it was important for businesses like DoorDash to ensure their costs were fair and sustainable for the industry.
She said the marketing reach of services like Uber Eats and DoorDash was they gave exposure to restaurants people might not usually try.
“Through their marketing reach, they can also assist restaurants to find new customers.”