DoorDash aims to speed up your order with new pickup feature
Your order can be ready for pickup on arrival by sharing your location with restaurants.
With restaurant dining rooms closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, many people look to delivery and pickup services like Postmates, Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub for their daily meals. To keep up with demands, DoorDash launched a new feature Wednesday that could make picking up your order more efficient in a time of social distancing.
Read more: Best food delivery service: DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and more compared
A recent survey by DoorDash in March found that 56% of 1,000 customers said their takeout consumption has increased because of the pandemic, while 44% of those surveyed favored the pickup option as a way to cut the cost of delivery.
Customers can now opt to share their location with merchants while the DoorDash app is running, so restaurants can be alerted when the customer is approaching and have the food ready on arrival. DoorDash hopes the addition will eliminate customers gathering and waiting in stores for long periods of time to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
The new pickup feature is available as of today by toggling the Pickup button at the top of the app. You can also check out our guide on how to safely order food delivery, takeout and groceries during quarantine.
Throughout the pandemic, food delivery services have released alternative delivery and pickup options to aid social distancing measures. Postmates introduced a curbside pickup option last week, while Instacart and GrubHub have had contactless delivery options since March. DoorDash has also temporarily made no-contact deliveries the default delivery option.
