Grocery giant Kroger announced a partnership this week with DoorDash on Sept. 29, bringing approximately 2,700 grocery stores to the delivery service’s platform immediately.

The fulfillment option will expand Kroger’s grocery delivery offerings, which have already seen billions of dollars committed to robotic ecommerce fulfillment centers through work with the U.K.-based Ocado Group.

Kroger ranks No. 6 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. Kroger is No. 1 in the database’s Food & Beverage category. However, it also competes with Mass Merchants — including Walmart, Target and Costco — that rank higher in the Top 2000 for online grocery sales. Digital Commerce 360 projects that Kroger online sales will reach $19.98 billion in 2025.

Why Kroger is adding DoorDash delivery options

“Customers are looking for more convenient ways to shop at their local Kroger store, and delivery is an increasingly important way they engage with us,” said Yael Cosset, executive vice president and chief digital officer for Kroger. “We want to provide customers what they want, how they want it, without asking them to compromise on value.”

This is one of Cosset’s first big initiatives since he was tapped to helm Kroger’s new ecommerce division earlier this year.

A spokesman for Kroger did not return a request for additional comments or context about the partnership with DoorDash.

DoorDash heralded the new arrangement.

“With Kroger now on DoorDash nationwide, millions of customers can shop the largest grocer on our platform with the convenience of on-demand delivery,” said Prabir Adarkar, president and chief operating officer of DoorDash.

How DoorDash delivery will live alongside existing fulfillment infrastructure

DoorDash’s delivery infrastructure contrasts with the grocer’s robotics- and fulfillment center-oriented partnership with Ocado Group. Meanwhile, there has been some speculation that Kroger is rethinking its robotics investment. Nevertheless, one industry analyst assessed that the two methodologies can live together in the same portfolio.

Joe Serrano, global managing partner of retail and CPG at the global technology firm HTEC, assessed that while Kroger has its own delivery channels, DoorDash brings millions of active users to them who may never download the Kroger app.

“Thin margins are a trade Kroger will make,” Serrano said. “In grocery, volume and velocity beat margin purity.”

And while Kroger is expanding its use of robotics internally, DoorDash is turnkey and quick.

“Ocado gave Kroger robotics and centralized efficiency, but it is slow and capital heavy, where DoorDash gives instant reach, flexible last mile, and consumer visibility overnight,” Serrano noted.

Kroger’s omnichannel approach

Serrano said that Kroger is playing it smart by developing a diverse portfolio of channels.

“Use robots where they pay off,” Serrano said. “Use gig networks where they scale.”

He credited Ocado with bringing robotics and Kroger’s 84.51° division for data science.

“All of that now feeds into DoorDash’s last-mile infrastructure,” Serrano notes, adding that better data plus faster logistics equals more baskets at lower cost.

“Kroger still uses Ocado where it makes sense, but DoorDash gives reach that robotics cannot,” Serrano said.

Seranno added that the DoorDash partnership moves the grocer closer toward more robust, seamless, frictionless, omnichannel operations.

“Connected orchestration is the future,” he stated. “The winners will link robotics, AI, store networks, and gig delivery into one seamless system.”

He noted that Kroger’s plunge into the DoorDash world will raise the bar for all grocers and have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem.

Kroger’s future delivery ambitions

According to data from the predictive consumer intelligence company Resonate, the numbers back up Kroger’s delivery bet.

Resonate data shows that there are 54.5 million Kroger shoppers in the U.S., or about 22.9% of the online U.S. adult population. Of this group, 54% are female, 26% are 65 or older, and the mean household income is $81,647. 26% of Kroger shoppers use DoorDash for delivery, Resonate found, with 39% citing convenience as a key shopping factor. Meanwhile, 69% cite price as a key shopping factor.

Overall, there are 59.4 million DoorDash users in the U.S., or about one-quarter of the online U.S. adult population. Of this group, 54% are also female (a similar share to Kroger’s), but this audience skews younger; 45% are 25-44 years of age. They also tend to earn more, with their mean household income at $87,686. 21% of DoorDash users shop at Kroger, and they have similar shopping habits to those of the Kroger audience: 32% cite convenience as a key shopping factor, and 59% cite price as a key shopping factor.

“You could make the assumption that this partnership allows Kroger to reach a younger, slightly wealthier audience that still values price and convenience when it comes to shopping,”  a spokesperson for Resonate noted in a statement to Digital Commerce 360.

Do you rank in our databases? 

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the online retail industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.