With third-party delivery and digital payments among today’s norm, using cash for food deliveries seems somewhat taboo. It feels like long gone are the days of handing the driver a bill saying “keep the change.”
However, despite the rise of e-commerce, paying with cash still remains a preference for many consumers. In response to restaurant partner feedback, DoorDash announced “Cash on Delivery,” which allows restaurants using DoorDash Drive to accept cash payments.
Drive is DoorDash’s white-label fulfilment platform, that lets restaurants offer ordering and delivery through their own website, while leveraging the delivery giant’s fleet of drivers.
The company says in testing, pizza restaurants were among those seeing the most value with the update, with nearly 20 percent of pizza orders in the U.S. fulfilled through DoorDash Drive paid for in cash.
Donatos is one pizza brand utilizing the cash payment option. The Ohio-based chain has over 440 locations in the U.S.
“Cash On Delivery through DoorDash Drive is one way we’ve maintained this high-quality service our loyal customers expect, as we can grow our business online while still enabling customers to pay with cash should they desire,” said Ben Smith, director of operations development at Donatos.
But not every Drive restaurant offers cash payments. The company says the feature is only available in restaurants that specifically request a cash option. The company adds that many customers expect and prefer flexible digital payment methods.
Delivery drivers are also reaping benefits from cash outs by gaining access to instant earnings. Dashers can pocket the order payment plus tip. The full order amount is then automatically deducted from their weekly earnings. Dashers can opt-in to cash deliveries as they wish.
DoorDash tested “Cash on Delivery” for more than a year before the official public launch. The company states that ahead of the debut, 75 percent of Dashers chose to accept cash orders and nearly 500,000 completed at least one cash delivery over the past year.
A piece of the pie
Pizzerias have conducted their own deliveries far before third-party delivery was a concept, but amid economic uncertainty and driver shortages, many have swayed from in-house delivery.
Big chains like Domino’s strictly use their own driver fleets, yet the company did report a disappointing fourth quarter as delivery demand fell, citing inflation. Pizza Hut has also seen sales stagnate.
In addition to cash deliveries, DoorDash is honing in on other features that reflect traditional pizza delivery promises.
This includes offering “pizza hot bags” to help maintain pizza quality, as well as a new communication system that provides restaurant operators with ways to track and communicate with Dashers while enabling them to contact customers for order updates via text.
