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DoorDash Adds Lyft Discounts in Bid to Boost Subscriptions

A delivery worker carries a DoorDash bag in New York, US, on Monday, April 29, 2024. DoorDash Inc. is scheduled to release earnings figures on May 1. Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- DoorDash Inc. is teaming up with Lyft Inc. to offer ride discounts to its subscribers, as rideshare and delivery apps lean on partnerships to deepen customer loyalty.

Members of DashPass, which waives the delivery fee on most orders, will get four discounted Lyft rides per month starting Oct. 30, the companies said in a statement. That could mean either 5% off regular Lyft rides or 10% off scheduled airport trips. Members will also get two free upgrades a month to priority pick-up. Lyft users are eligible for a free 3-month DashPass trial if they aren’t already subscribed.

DoorDash and Lyft did not disclose the financial terms of their partnership.

The tie-up is the latest instance of two brands tapping into each other’s customer base to boost engagement without having to merge or make an acquisition. Rival Uber Technologies Inc. has a restaurant-delivery partnership with Instacart, while Amazon Prime offers a Grubhub perk.

For DoorDash, adding more benefits to its subscription service could help it attract new members, who tend to order more frequently. Working with Lyft adds a rideshare perk to the delivery membership, a feature that Uber already offers with its Uber One membership. 

DoorDash subscribers already enjoy free access to the ad-supported tier of the Max streaming service, thanks to a partnership with Warner Bros Discovery Inc. announced in August. 

DoorDash said in February that it ended 2023 with more than 18 million members for DashPass and Wolt+ — the subscription service of the Finnish delivery company it acquired in 2022. That total represented nearly half of its monthly active users reported at the time. Uber One, on the other hand, had 19 million members in 25 countries, the company said in February, covering about 12% of its monthly active users.

For Lyft, which does not offer food delivery like its bigger rival Uber, partnering with DoorDash allows its services to reach new audiences, as it has with other partners like Mastercard Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. About 20% of Lyft’s rides in 2023 had a direct connection to a partner, according to the statement.

Separately, DoorDash reported third-quarter results on Wednesday after the close, including its first operating profit since 2020.

(Updates with DoorDash’s third-quarter results in the final paragraph.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.