How 7-Eleven Is Planning To Compete With DoorDash

During pandemic lockdowns, were you more likely to reach for your phone and navigate to a meal delivery app such as Grubhub or UberEats than you were to brave the supermarket or a restaurant? If you're like many Americans, the answer is probably yes. According to Bloomberg Second Measure, meal delivery sales soared to new heights during the worst of the pandemic; catapulting such companies to previously unreached levels of success. The outlet reports that of these apps, DoorDash, the Stanford, California-founded service that went public at the height of COVID-19 (via Statista), has been the most successful both during and post-pandemic, capturing 59% of meal service delivery sales in May of this year.

Part of DoorDash's recipe for success has been the diversity of its services. According to Statista, the service expanded into both grocery and alcohol delivery in order to allow it to capture a wider market of users, and the app has also partnered with specific stores and restaurants in order to widen its reach. One of those stores is 7-Eleven, which partnered with DoorDash in 2015 (via PR Newswire). But now, according to news published last week by The Information, the well-known convenience store (c-store) chain will move to compete with its partner by acquiring the delivery startup, Skipcart.

Perhaps the pinnacle of American convenience, counting more than 12,600 U.S. locations (via Statista) selling snacks, hot and cold foods, and beverages (via its official website), 7-Eleven is also easily within reach through a variety of apps, such as Instacart, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, allowing home delivery of favorite 7-Eleven items ranging from taquitos to pizza (via Thrillist). 7-Eleven also offers home delivery through a partnership with the wildly successful app DoorDash, but now, the company will be able to directly compete with the food delivery app through its acquisition of newcomer Skipcart, founded in 2018 in Texas (via Restaurant Business).

According to Grocery Dive, the c-store chain purchased Skipcart last week, giving the company ownership of the startup's same-day and on-demand delivery services. Skipcart, which delivers food and beverage, grocery, and restaurant items as well as electronics, POS systems, automotive, and pharmaceuticals, counts around 2.3 million drivers covering 98% of the country, making it a strong competitor to DoorDash's estimated 2.9 million drivers (via Grocery Dive). Skipcart's average delivery time is 30 minutes, beating out DoorDash's 39 minutes (via Business of Apps).

The acquisition will allow the c-store chain to cash in more directly on the growing popularity of delivery apps, Grocery Dive noted. It's a move similar to that taken by the country's second-largest c-store chain, Circle K, which in April partnered with grocery delivery newcomer Food Rocket — which promises delivery 15 minutes, half the time of Skipcart.