Costco Wholesale last week announced a new partnership with DoorDash and a major extension of its relationship with Uber, vastly expanding its same-day delivery firepower but nonetheless leaving it well behind rivals like Walmart and Amazon, which use drones for some of their fast deliveries. And that is by design.
Until now, Costco’s same-day delivery has consisted largely of teaming up with Instacart for very quick delivery, typically groceries and other essentials. (For two-day delivery, Costco typically handles shipping itself.) And while the Uber and DoorDash tie-ups give Costco much more reach, the moves also serve as a reminder that Costco’s business model and the intense, almost cult-like customer loyalty the membership-based retailer inspires mean that it doesn’t have to participate in the delivery arms race the same way its rivals do.
