Why Walmart Is Taking on DoorDash and Uber Eats With Donuts, Coffee, and Sandwiches

• Walmart's fast delivery (under 30 minutes) grew 48% in Q2, with restaurant delivery introducing customers to Express Delivery—one in five combined Subway-Walmart orders were first-time users of the service
• The strategy relies on attaching low-margin restaurant orders (coffee and donuts) to existing grocery baskets, as standalone food delivery economics are unprofitable due to low order values and time sensitivity
• Walmart will expand Dunkin' delivery to most of the chain's approximately 10,000 U.S. locations over the next year, operating through its Spark Driver platform with a fundamentally different cost structure than competitors

Market Summary: Walmart Challenges DoorDash and Uber Eats with Restaurant Delivery Expansion

Key Developments

Walmart announced plans to deliver Dunkin' products to customers' homes, initially from in-store locations before expanding to approximately 10,000 standalone Dunkin' locations nationwide over the next year. This follows an earlier partnership with Subway and represents a direct challenge to established food delivery platforms DoorDash and Uber Eats through its new Walmart Restaurant Delivery service.

Strategic Advantages

Walmart's primary competitive edge lies in its proximity to consumers—90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart store—combined with its existing Spark Driver delivery network and logistics infrastructure. The company's Q2 earnings showed fast delivery (under 30 minutes) grew 48% quarter-over-quarter, despite overall sales weakness that pressured the stock.

Business Model and Economics

Industry analysts emphasize that standalone coffee and donut delivery is unprofitable due to low order values and time-sensitivity. However, Walmart's strategy focuses on attaching restaurant items to existing grocery orders, increasing basket size and order frequency. Data shows one in five combined Subway-Walmart orders were customers' first Express Delivery use, with nearly 30% returning within 30 days.

Market Implications

Experts view this as Walmart transitioning from in-store partnerships to a full restaurant delivery marketplace, fundamentally different from DoorDash and Uber Eats' pure-play model. Success depends on maintaining delivery density, optimizing routing, and meeting customer expectations for speed and food temperature—particularly challenging in rural areas during off-peak hours.

The expansion represents incremental revenue opportunity through increased app engagement, potentially transforming weekly grocery orders into daily purchasing patterns while leveraging existing infrastructure against established competitors.