Delivery

a way to cut costs and continue to use it,” she said.

Delivery also comes at a cost to stores, depending on the services they’re using. Some businesses, like Macy’s and Walmart, have customers order products on their own web site and use DoorDash to make deliveries. At other stores, like 7-Eleven or CVS, Uber Eats and DoorDash drivers do the shopping and make deliveries.

In some cases, it’s a mix. The grocery chain Alber

stons recently signed a deal with DoorDash for delivery from nearly 2,000 U.S. stores. In some locations, DoorDash drivers do the shopping and delivery. At other stores, Alberstons workers pack the groceries and DoorDash is only used for delivery.

Albertsons laid off many of its own delivery workers earlier this year; at least some were given other jobs within the store, the company says. Amber Kappa, Albertsons’ vice president for e-commerce, said the chain simply couldn’t keep up with digital order demand, which nearly tripled last year.

“If we don’t offer one- to two-hour delivery fast and near-free, I don’t know how long we’d last,” Kappa said.

For some businesses, delivery companies are helping eliminate expensive shipping. Petco uses DoorDash to move heavy bags of kibble and kitty litter to customers’ doorsteps, which is much faster and cheaper than shipping them.

“It costs the same amount of money to take a 40-pound bag as it costs for a tennis ball in that DoorDasher’s trunk,” said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin.

But not every delivery driver is pleased about delivery’s

expansion.

Barbara Mensch of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, who drives for both DoorDash and Instacart, said business was booming in the early days of the pandemic. But lately, customers have been tipping less generously, and she often turns down DoorDash orders. She doesn’t like shopping for goods in unfamiliar stores like Dollar Tree or idling at Walmart while a worker prepares a delivery.

“A $13 order that takes you 45 minutes? It’s not a good value for your time,” she said. “I would do better to stay at home and not

use my car at all than go out and work for peanuts.”

But Kweli Murphy of Englewood, California, who drives for both DoorDash and Uber Eats, says he’s happy with the work. Murphy, 19, just bought his first car with his delivery earnings, which average around $150 for six hours of driving.

Most of his deliveries still come from restaurants, but he occasionally shops for orders in places like AutoZone and CVS.

“It’s not a big deal to go shopping for people. It’s just an opportunity to go into different places other than restaurants,” he said.