DoorDash Expands Beyond Delivery With Retail Returns and Homegrown Drones

DoorDash expands into retail returns with in-house drone delivery program

DoorDash is expanding beyond on-demand food and retail delivery with two new services: a retail returns offering that uses its existing driver network and an in-house drone program for short-distance deliveries.

The announcements were made Wednesday at DoorDash’s Dash Forward event in San Francisco. Together, they represent a broader push by the delivery platform into reverse logistics, retail fulfillment and multiple forms of last-mile transportation.

Dasher Returns is already available in select cities and is expected to roll out nationwide in November, according to DoorDash. Customers will pay a flat fee of $7.99 for a driver to pick up an unwanted retail item and return it to the store. The service does not require the customer to package the item or print a shipping label.

DoorDash said pickups can occur in as little as 30 minutes. After the item is returned, the retailer will process the return and issue a refund within several days. The service will use the same pool of independent contractors, known as Dashers, who deliver merchandise from stores to consumers.

For drivers, the returns service adds another type of local pickup and delivery work to the DoorDash network. Unlike a typical delivery, however, the driver will be transporting merchandise back to a retail location rather than completing a one-way trip to a household. The model also places the driver in the middle of the return process, where timing, item condition and retailer requirements may affect how the handoff is completed.

DoorDash said it expects 80% of the retail orders handled through its platform to be eligible for Dasher Returns by the end of 2026. The company is positioning the service as a way for retailers to use their existing stores as return destinations rather than relying exclusively on centralized parcel facilities or traditional shipping networks.

The offering places DoorDash in competition with established parcel carriers and other delivery platforms that are developing easier return options. FedEx, for example, has introduced a lower-cost no-box, no-label return service, although customers must take items to participating drop-off locations such as FedEx Office or Kohl’s. Uber Eats has also introduced a fee-based service for returning goods purchased through its app.

DoorDash’s model differs by sending a driver to the customer’s location. Whether consumers will consistently pay for that convenience remains an open question, particularly for returns that are not urgent and could be dropped off by the customer at no charge. Still, the service gives DoorDash another use for its local delivery capacity during a period when the company is expanding its retail marketplace.

DoorDash begins operating its own drone program

DoorDash also announced DoorDash Air, an in-house drone delivery program developed by the company’s DoorDash Labs robotics and automation division. The company said it has received Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, authorizing it to commercially operate its own drone delivery service.

The aircraft is a six-rotor drone designed around DoorDash’s order data, including the typical weight and delivery distance of restaurant orders. DoorDash said about 80% of its U.S. restaurant orders are small and light enough for the aircraft to carry, although distance, weather and other operating conditions will determine which orders are suitable for drone delivery.

The initial design is intended for deliveries of roughly 3 to 5 miles. DoorDash has been working with outside drone providers, including Alphabet’s Wing and Flytrex, for about four years and said those partnerships will continue. The company described its own aircraft as a mid-range option that will supplement shorter- and longer-range systems operated by partners.

DoorDash Air is being tested in Northern California with national restaurant brands Chipotle and Popeyes, as well as local restaurants. DoorDash said trial deliveries have averaged less than five minutes. Customers will be able to select delivery by a human driver, a small autonomous ground robot known as Dot or a drone when those options are available.

The company is developing more than the aircraft itself. DoorDash said it is also working on the software, loading systems and ground infrastructure needed to connect drones with restaurants and other local businesses. Those systems are intended to support pickups from locations such as drive-thrus, rooftops and rear doors.

DoorDash said it consulted with businesses on packaging, loading and handoff procedures. Orders are lowered to the delivery location by a winch, with a backup method to bring the aircraft safely to the ground in rare situations. The company said the drone’s cruising noise is comparable to that of a passing car.

For professional drivers and other last-mile workers, the drone program adds another layer to DoorDash’s mix of delivery methods. The platform’s routing system will consider weather, flight range and ground traffic when determining whether an order should be assigned to a drone, robot or driver. That means drones are being positioned as a supplement to ground delivery rather than a replacement for the broader driver network.

The announcements come as DoorDash adds more retail brands to its marketplace, including Macy’s, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans and Timberland. Costco and Skims also recently expanded delivery partnerships with the platform. DoorDash is combining those retail relationships with returns, automated delivery and inventory tools as it seeks to handle more of the movement between local stores and consumers.