DoorDash is one of the biggest food delivery apps in the United States, but its global reach isn’t close to Uber Eats.

Will it ever reach its rival’s international success? Likely! DoorDash expansion plans mean that the popular food delivery app is constantly expanding to new countries and is continually opening up new opportunities for drivers.

Is DoorDash Expanding?

Yes. DoorDash is expanding, looking to enter new markets and offer new features and services to customers in cities like New York, San Francisco, and other cities outside the United States. Doordash’s market share in the United States food delivery market has increased consistently over the last five years.

DoorDash’s stock is also popular on the New York Stock Exchange, attracting investors and boosting the company’s overall value on Wall Street and beyond. You can check the stock’s history on Yahoo Finance.

DoorDash Expansion Plans

Let’s take a closer look at DoorDash’s expansion plans in the United States and the global delivery market.

Global Expansion

San Francisco-based DoorDash is now an international food delivery app. DoorDash already operates in Australia and Canada. In addition, DoorDash is focusing on fulfilling the global grocery and restaurant delivery demand in Japan and Europe.

DoorDash Japan Expansion

DoorDash officially launched in Sendai, Japan, in 2021. With plenty of delivery drivers now active in Japan, the Japanese consumer can support the local economy while enjoying all that DoorDash offers.  

DoorDash Europe Expansion

In 2021, DoorDash announced that it was expanding to Europe by merging with the European food delivery app Wolt. Wolt operates in 23 countries, including Finland, Germany, and Hungary.

Miki Kuusi, CEO of Wolt, will head DoorDash International in Helsinki, Finland.

However, DoorDash will not operate its European delivery service under its brand. Instead, under the European expansion plan, Wolt will retain its name and operate as a separate app. That avoids making significant changes that may confuse customers or inconvenience restaurants and drivers.

DoorDash Partnership Plans

DoorDash also announced that restaurants could choose from three partnership plans when working with DoorDash. That gives restaurants more flexibility and allows even smaller restaurants with small budgets to sell on DoorDash.

Note that for all plans, there is a 30-day trial. During the trial, you will pay a 0% commission fee, allowing you to see for yourself whether DoorDash enables you to get more orders. After the trial period, you can decide whether staying with DoorDash and paying the commission is worth it or not.

Also, there is no activation fee to join any of the three plans.

DoorDash Basic

DoorDash Basic is the basic plan that gives restaurants access to the DoorDash platform. It allows you to reach customers in your area, and DoorDash will fulfill all orders for you. It comes with the lowest commission, making it the most cost-effective way to join DoorDash.

You’ll pay a 15% commission on delivery orders and a 6% commission on pickup orders. You won’t get orders from customers with DashPass. Note that the commission rate includes credit card processing fees.

If you have your own delivery riders who fulfill orders for you, the commission rate will always remain 15%. Since DoorDash doesn’t have to pay your riders, it will be happy to give you this lower rate.

DoorDash Plus

If you sign up for DoorDash Plus, you’ll get access to customers who have DashPass. DashPass is DoorDash’s premium membership for frequent customers. It allows customers to get a $0 delivery fee on orders over $12. Since you will be reaching these frequent customers, you will likely get more orders overall.

You will also have an expanded reach to a broader area, helping you get more orders. However, you will have to pay a 25% commission on delivery orders in exchange for increased visibility on the app. The pickup commission will still be 6%.

DoorDash Premier

Finally, DoorDash Premier gives you everything in DoorDash Plus and an additional perk: If you get less than 20 orders a month, including both delivery and pickup orders, you will not have to pay any commission on your orders. DoorDash will refund any commission you paid at the end of the month.

However, if you get more than 20 orders a month, you will have to pay a 30% commission on each delivery order. The commission on pickup orders will still be 6%.

Note that if you cancel more than five orders a month, or you don’t remain open during 90% of the opening hours you advertise on your merchant account, you will not qualify for a refund at the end of the month, even if you got fewer than 20 orders.

How DoorDash Expansion Plans Might Affect Drivers

As a driver, you might be wondering how DoorDash’s future plans may affect your ability to earn money on the platform. Here’s what you need to know about that.

More Global Opportunities

Drivers worldwide will have additional opportunities to make money with DoorDash. For the time being, only gig workers in Japan have access to new opportunities. For drivers in Europe, nothing will change, as DoorDash’s merger with Wolt will not change things for drivers. However, in the future, DoorDash may expand to new countries, expanding the gig economy globally.

Hint at Driverless Future

On the flip side, drivers may lose out on opportunities if DoorDash starts using driverless cars to fulfill some deliveries. DoorDash has partnered with General Motors to test using driverless vehicles to make some deliveries. It’s unclear if DoorDash will actually deliver in such cars, but it may happen one day.

What Is DoorDash’s Growth Strategy?

DoorDash has a solid and profitable growth strategy that works well for it. Here’s how DoorDash is planning to grow.

Audience Segmentation

DoorDash is doing a great job at segmenting its audience into different groups: users, drivers, and restaurants. In addition, it now targets both restaurants and convenience stores, offering more options to consumers.

Advanced Value Propositions

DoorDash allows customers to save money by signing up for DashPass, which comes with a $0 delivery fee on orders over $12. That allows frequent customers to enjoy convenient deliveries at a low price. In addition, DoorDash is constantly offering new features to its customers. For example, it introduced convenience and grocery stores to the app.

Unique Brand

DoorDash has a unique branding strategy that has catapulted it to one of the top food delivery apps in the nation. Its red logo, which you can see on delivery vehicles in numerous cities across the country, helps promote brand awareness. What’s more, DoorDash rivals Uber Eats, often offering a more extensive selection of restaurants.

Technological Simplicity

Finally, ordering on DoorDash is relatively straightforward. Anyone with a smartphone can download the app and start ordering food, even without advanced technological skills. With delivery to your door and SMS notifications, ordering on DoorDash is a seamless experience.  

Is DoorDash Profitable as a Company?

Documents that DoorDash filed with the SEC show that it experienced periods of loss and some periods of profit. DoorDash emerged intact after the pandemic, during which many other food delivery apps suffered significant losses. Those filings show that DoorDash can be profitable, even if it hasn’t managed to generate a profit every quarter consistently.

Final Thoughts

With hundreds of thousands of merchants and 18 million consumers, DoorDash continues to grow and expand. The fact that it is spreading to new countries shows that it has a viable growth strategy that will likely position it as one of the top players in the global food delivery market in the long run.

If you have any questions or comments about DoorDash’s expansion plans, post them in the comment section below!

Meta description: Learn about DoorDash expansion plans, including its expansion to Japan & Europe and how its plans may affect drivers and earning opportunities.