DoorDash launches unified system for restaurant growth
DoorDash launches unified system aimed at helping restaurants grow
“The marketplace is still the marketplace, and then you can add on whatever additional features of the OS you want to leverage,”
DashOS gathers data from multiple DoorDash channels in one place, giving restaurants a more complete view of their customers, as well as new ways to reach them.
DoorDash wants to help restaurants drive more business — and not just more delivery orders.
The company on Tuesday unveiled DashOS, which brings together multiple DoorDash channels — delivery, online ordering, reservations, loyalty, and more — into a single back-end management system for operators. DoorDash said it will give restaurants a more complete view of their customers as well as better ways to reach them.
Crucially, the system is designed to break down the barrier between customers who order anonymously through the DoorDash app and those who come to a restaurant via first-party channels like its website or a reservation.
“A lot of [restaurants] think of their marketplace customers very separate from their first-party customers,” Parisa Sadrzadeh, DoorDash’s VP of strategy and operations, said in an interview. “The goal with DashOS is to start to have restaurants be able to have a very unified view of the guest.”
Here’s an example of how that might work: Under DashOS, customers who order from a restaurant on the DoorDash app will be able to enroll in its rewards program. That creates a profile for the customer that extends across all of DoorDash’s channels.
The restaurant can then use DashOS to invite that customer to dine in with a nudge or a special offer. If the customer takes them up on it, the restaurant will already know who they are.
“Historically, the restaurant might have seen you as a different customer every single time, and that’s what DashOS changes,” Sadrzadeh said while introducing DashOS at DoorDash's Dash Forward event on Tuesday. “Every interaction is an opportunity for that restaurant to bring you back.”
DoorDash said the more integrated system is already producing results, including a 15% increase in reservations and higher frequency and spending. Customers who enroll in DoorDash’s omnichannel loyalty program order 1.8 times more often and spend about 1.75 times as much, on average, compared to customers who are not enrolled.
The success of DashOS will hinge upon customers opting into loyalty programs, which they can do in the DoorDash app and other touchpoints. More than 1 in 5 customers are signing up, “and that number is growing by the week,” Sadrzadeh said.
The price of DashOS will vary by the restaurant, and will be based on which elements of the system the restaurant wants to use. It will not affect restaurants’ third-party delivery pricing.
“The marketplace is still the marketplace, and then you can add on whatever additional features of the OS you want to leverage,” Sadrzadeh said.
DoorDash is working to integrate DashOS with other restaurant tech systems that are part of its Preferred Integrations Program. This will extend DashOS features to restaurants using those other systems starting next year.
DashOS was part of a flurry of new products unveiled at Dash Forward, DoorDash’s annual product-launch event.
Other announcements of note:
- Text DoorDash: Customers will be able to interact with DoorDash via text message rather than the DoorDash app. They can ask for recommendations and reorder past orders. The company plans to add other features, such as the ability to make reservations and communicate with delivery drivers. Texting is now live with about 20,000 consumers.
- Agentic office catering: DoorDash developed a way for businesses to connect its software to internal AI tools to automate food orders. For instance, companies could build a Slack bot that asks employees what they want for lunch that day, assembles the order, and places it with DoorDash. Early customers include SpaceXAI and Cognition. This tool is in the test phase and companies can join a waitlist.
- DoorDash Air: The company shared more details about its previously announced drone delivery program, including a first look at the drone itself. It also revealed that Chipotle and Popeyes will participate in an early-stage pilot in Northern California in the coming months.
- Product returns: DoorDash customers can now return retail items they ordered on DoorDash. They can schedule a Dasher Return for a flat fee of $7.99 and have a delivery worker pick it up and bring it back to the store, with a refund processed within days. Returns apply only to retail orders at this time.
