DoorDash to Roll Out Dasher Returns Nationwide in November

DoorDash will bring its Dasher Returns pickup service nationwide in November, with a goal of making 80% of the retail orders it handles eligible for returns by the end of 2026.

The company unveiled the service, along with new app features and retail partners, on Sept. 29 at its Dash Forward event in San Francisco. Dasher Returns is currently live in a limited number of cities.

"Starting today, we're launching Dasher Returns," said Shanna Prevé, chief revenue officer at DoorDash. "For a flat fee, DoorDash will come to your home, pick up your return, and take it back to the store for you."

Prevé demonstrated the flow with an order from Gap. A shopper can place a return request immediately or schedule it; once someone accepts the request, they pick up the item and bring it back to the merchant's physical store.

"Because that inventory goes back on the shelves today, Gap has a chance to resell it to another mom, and I get my refund in days, not weeks," she stated. Prevé called it "the return experience I wish I always had."

The pitch gives retailers a reason to care: returned inventory reaches store shelves the same day, and shoppers see refunds in days rather than weeks.

New retail brands join the marketplace

DoorDash operates a marketplace inside its app where retailers' products are searchable and often available for same-day delivery.

"There are more than 200,000 retailers and grocers available across Deliveroo, DoorDash and Bolt," Prevé said, naming two of DoorDash's other platforms. "Every single one of these retailers has decided a customer shouldn't have to choose between getting something fast and getting it from a brand they trust."

The company named five new brands joining the app: Anthropologie, North Face, Timberland, Vans and Macy's.

Prevé brought Josh Janos, vice president of marketplaces and digital partnerships at Macy's, on stage to discuss the department store's move. Macy's began working with DoorDash in 2020 as a white-label same-day and next-day fulfillment provider for orders placed through Macys.com, the Macy's mobile app and Bloomingdales.com.

"Now, today we are announcing that the Macy's catalog will be available from within the DoorDash Marketplace app," Janos said.

The two companies also announced that DoorDash will participate in the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 26 in New York City. Macy's ranks No. 17 in Digital Commerce 360's Top 2000 Database, which ranks the largest North American online retailers by annual ecommerce sales.

DoorDash CEO and co-founder Tony Xu appeared on stage to discuss the company's latest moves, joined by other executives and representatives from Macy's, Chipotle and Popeyes. The event follows other recent retail expansions: DoorDash added Costco deliveries in the U.S. and joined Lowe's and Wing to pilot drone delivery.

AI tools, drones and robots

Beyond returns, DoorDash detailed several new launches for customers and delivery workers:

• DoorDash MCP for corporate ordering, connecting AI agents to DoorDash's system
• Text DoorDash, an SMS-based ordering system currently open through a waitlist
• Ask DoorDash, a conversational interface for shoppers
• DashBuddy, a text-based SMS chatbot for delivery workers, known as Dashers
• DoorDash Air, the company's own drone, entering use for some Chipotle and Popeyes orders

Stanley Tang, chief product officer and co-founder, provided an update on the company's Dot delivery robots. The wheeled units debuted a year ago and travel roads, bike lanes and sidewalks to complete orders.

"Today, Dot is scaling, making deliveries for over 2,000 store locations across Greater Phoenix, from local restaurants — like Grove and Real Cafe — to national chains like Little Caesars," Tang said. "Each Dot is completing three times the number of deliveries compared to last year."

With returns, five new retail brands, conversational AI ordering and autonomous delivery all advancing at once, DoorDash is positioning its marketplace as full-funnel infrastructure for retailers rather than a last-mile courier alone.