DoorDash customer loyalty drives share gains

DoorDash “added more new consumers than any quarter since Q1 2021” as noted in their Q1 2022 earnings release. The news hinted at a reversal of decelerating customer growth that both DoorDash and the wider industry experienced after peaking during the early pandemic. However, even while adding fewer customers each quarter, Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) transaction data shows DoorDash’s market share continued to grow–reaching 57% in 1Q22 up from 54% in 4Q21. Comparatively, UberEATS controlled 25% share (including Postmates), while Grubhub had 11% in Q1 2022.

DoorDash notably continued to outgrow competitors in recent quarters despite plateauing new customer counts, mostly on account of increasing customer loyalty. The average DoorDash customer ordered 3x more frequently in the three months ended April 2022 than February 2018, driving a proportionate increase in total spend. Both metrics continued to climb in 2022 even as customer acquisition slowed. In a time when many eaters have already tried DoorDash, customer loyalty, not necessarily new customer growth, will define the service’s success going forward.