Although Amazon and Walmart have driven a large part of the current same-day delivery conversation, third-party delivery companies have ensured that retail competitors don’t feel left out.
DoorDash, known primarily for its food delivery services, is expanding its horizons into the apparel space, with recent partnerships with Old Navy and Pacsun. The companies join a handful of apparel sellers including Academy Sports + Outdoors, David’s Bridal, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JD Sports and subsidiary Finish Line in using the same-day delivery service.
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And Shopify Plus merchants like Gymshark, Skims and Fashion Nova can now leverage Uber Direct, Uber’s on-demand delivery solution for businesses, to ship customers their online orders in as quick as one hour.
Pacsun’s DoorDash partnership, announced Monday, offers on-demand apparel delivery from more than 300 of the specialty apparel retailer’s stores.
Richard Cox, chief merchandising officer of Pacsun, hyped up the partnership in a statement, highlighting that the benefits of the service would be “for those who want to shop for the holidays without missing a beat.”
Through Friday, DashPass members can get 30 percent discounts off orders of $75 or more—although the discount is capped at a $25. Non-DashPass customers can get 25 percent off a purchase in excess of $75, with a $20 discount limit.
“Pacsun’s influence on style and culture makes it an exciting addition to the DoorDash marketplace, expanding the access and convenience consumers expect through the holiday season and well beyond,” said Fuad Hannon, vice president of new verticals at DoorDash, in a statement. “It reflects our focus on building meaningful retail partnerships that offer consumers greater choice and a seamless shopping experience, wherever and whenever they need it.”
The Shopify-Uber Direct partnership has implications for a much wider swath of retailers across the U.S., Canada and France. The Shopify Plus platform is designed for high-growth brands ranging from mid-market to enterprise-level seeking to scale their business, with annual revenue growth ranging from as low as $1 million all the way up to over $100 million.
Like the DoorDash partnerships, the Shopify-Uber team-up is designed so these sellers looking to expand their same-day delivery ambitions do not have to build their own fleets, manage dispatch logic or build new tracking tools.
Bernie Huddlestun, head of Uber Direct, calls the partnership a way for merchants to “keep their direct connection with customers and stay competitive—without the cost or complexity of building delivery operations from scratch.”
Merchants have the option to offer one‑hour, same‑day or scheduled local delivery fulfilled through retail locations by store staff, according to Shopify’s vice president of retail Ray Reddy.
Citing November research from Capital One, 80 percent of consumers expect retailers to offer same-day delivery. And among that percentage, 30 percent expect free same-day delivery.
Uber also highlighted the customer stickiness that comes with implementing these services. According to the ridesharing company, 72 percent of consumers are more likely to continue ordering from merchants that offer same-day delivery.
While more retailers attempt to expand their same-day delivery horizons, retail giants continue to push the limits of fast shipping ahead of the holiday.
Amazon unveiled Wednesday it recently expanded same-day delivery for perishable groceries to 2,300 cities. The company expects to broaden the service to more areas in 2026.
According to the e-commerce giant, it has grown its perishable selection available for same-day delivery by over 30 percent since August, including thousands of items from Whole Foods Market.
That news came days after the company announced it is testing “ultra-fast” 30-minute deliveries in part of Seattle and Philadelphia. This offering, called Amazon Now, will include thousands of household essential items and groceries. Prime members would pay delivery fees starting at $3.99 per order, or $1.99 if the order is below $15.
To power the service, Amazon is using smaller facilities designed for efficient order fulfillment. These locations are strategically placed close to where Seattle- and Philadelphia-area customers live and work.
Walmart is also looking to take the heat off customers making last-minute decisions ahead of Christmas.
The retail giant is offering Express Delivery in as fast as one hour on orders placed up to 5 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve in certain markets. Regular same-day delivery and pickup offerings can be ordered that day until noon local time.
