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Walmart Challenges DoorDash and Uber Eats With New Dunkin' Delivery Expansion
Retail Trade · Internet Retail · cnbc · 2026-09-05
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Walmart is expanding its restaurant delivery service to include Dunkin' locations, aiming to boost app engagement and compete with major food delivery platforms.
What Happened
Strategic Expansion into Restaurant Delivery: Walmart is broadening its delivery capabilities by partnering with Dunkin' to bring coffee and pastries directly to customers. This initiative, branded as Walmart Restaurant Delivery, will eventually extend beyond in-store locations to include thousands of independent Dunkin' shops across the United States.
Competitive Positioning Against Delivery Giants: Industry analysts view this move as a direct challenge to established players like DoorDash and Uber Eats. By leveraging its massive existing logistics network and Spark Driver platform, Walmart aims to position itself as a formidable contender in the rapid-delivery marketplace.
Economic Rationale and Customer Engagement: While standalone coffee and doughnut deliveries often struggle with thin margins, Walmart plans to bundle these items with larger grocery orders to improve unit economics. This strategy is designed to increase the frequency of app usage, turning daily coffee habits into a gateway for broader retail purchases.
Operational Challenges and Future Outlook: Success in this sector requires maintaining high service levels for time-sensitive food items, which poses a new logistical hurdle for the retailer. While early data from its Subway pilot shows promise in driving Express Delivery adoption, the company must optimize routing density to compete effectively with specialized delivery services.