Loblaw to launch ultrafast delivery
Canada’s largest grocer plans to offer customers online delivery of grocery and convenience items in 30 minutes or less.
Loblaw Companies Ltd. is partnering with DoorDash Inc. to make online delivery available to customers in an expected express delivery time of 30 minutes or less, beginning in August 2022. PC Rapid Retail Canada Inc., a Loblaw subsidiary, will support the ultrafast delivery offering under the PC Express Rapid Delivery brand. PC Express also operates the Loblaw buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) offering
[Read more: Loblaw streamlines BOPIS even more]
Kicking off in major cities across Canada, including Vancouver, the Greater Toronto area, Calgary, and Kitchener, the express rapid delivery offering will include grocery and convenience items supplied by Loblaw.
Customers will be able to shop for grocery and convenience items to be delivered through express rapid delivery by visiting the DoorDash Marketplace app and selecting “PC Express” Rapid Delivery, or via PCExpress.ca. Additionally, starting in July 2022, customers will be able to order on the DoorDash Marketplace app from Loblaw Companies retail stores, including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, Provigo, Maxi, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Pharmaprix.
DoorDash will also support same-day delivery for grocery and convenience items from all Loblaw banner stores on Loblaw’s own PCExpress page through DoorDash Drive, DoorDash's white-label fulfilment platform.
This new collaboration with DoorDash marks the second on-demand delivery partnership Loblaw has entered in the past couple of months. In May 2022, the grocer was one of more than 10 Canadian retailers entering same-day delivery collaborations with Instacart. Canadian customers can visit the Instacart site or Instacart app and navigate to the storefront of their choosing, including Loblaw.
“Customers have come to expect the very best online grocery shopping experience from us, whether they choose curb-side pickup or delivery to their door,” said Lauren Steinberg, senior VP Loblaw Digital. “Collaborating with DoorDash on rapid delivery services enables us to enhance our already existing PC Express offering by adding 30-minutes-or-less delivery to meet customers’ growing interest in on-demand delivery options.”
"Our goal is to bring convenience to customers in Canada, with the selection and speed they want,” said Shilpa Arora, GM, DoorDash Canada. “Through this collaboration with Loblaw, we are addressing consumers’ need to ‘get it now,’ in addition to our existing Marketplace and Drive channels and furthering the value we bring to consumers and partners alike.”
DoorDash expands across the globe
DoorDash is becoming a major global player in the online delivery space. The company recently completed the acquisition of Helsinki, Finland-based online delivery platform Wolt Enterprises Oy in an all-stock transaction. This purchase brings DoorDash to operations a total of 27 countries, including the U.S.
DoorDash is now among the largest online food delivery companies in the world outside of China. Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway, which entered the U.S. market when it purchased Grubhub for $7.3 billion in stock in 2020, currently operates in 23 global markets.
Founded in 2013, DoorDash provides on-demand delivery from local and national businesses in more than 7,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, and Germany.