DoorDash Helps David’s Bridal Offer Wedding Dress Deliveries in Under an Hour
Who wouldn’t want a wedding dress with a pizza?
As unlikely as that might sound, David’s Bridal has teamed up with DoorDash to be its first retail partner in the wedding and special occasion sector. With more than 190 stores in the U.S., Canada and franchises in Mexico, the affordable retail chain is trying a new tactic domestically to offer same-day delivery.
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After testing DoorDash deliveries with 10 stores, David’s Bridal has rolled it out to 180 U.S. locations. Right out of the gate, all of the key performance indicators — the value of an average order, the number of orders generated by one store and under-an-hour deliveries — exceeded the pre-launch expectations, according to Kelly Cook, president of brand technology and finance for David’s Bridal. Before launching the project, the retailer first considered the potential cost, returns, timing of the payback, any IT recurring costs and other factors, as it always does before committing to new initiatives.
So far, the units per order is higher than projected, and the value of the average order — a little less than $100 — is also higher than what was expected. Pre-launch, David’s Bridal executives expected shoes, accessories, necklaces, veils and shapewear to be key, but dresses — special occasion, prom, party, “some bridesmaids, some bridal and little white dresses” — have been popular, according to Cook. The current second top-selling item is a push-up bra, which has edged out accessories from last week’s top item. “Dresses are number-one by a country mile,” Cook said.
This is new terrain for David’s Bridal, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in recent history. David’s Bridal planned to play up its DoorDash connection on its social media channels on Wednesday. Thus far, shoppers have been finding it organically via the search fashion iconography on DoorDash, Cook said.
The hook-up with DoorDash seems well-matched, especially since two-thirds of brides between the ages 27 and 28 — the key demographic for David’s Bridal — use last-mile delivery services via apps on a regular basis, Cook said. That includes restaurant orders, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and other goods. The fastest-growing area for last-mile deliveries is fashion, based on DoorDash research, Cook said. “We thought that was exactly up our alley. We have great dresses, and great shoes with extra padding so you can dance all night at a reception. We have everything sparkly under the sun. That’s why we approached DoorDash in the first place,” said Cook.
Through its own commissioned research, David’s Bridal has learned that its key bridal customers use TikTok as their first resource to search for new products — “not Amazon and not Google,” Cook said. Declining to estimate what percentage of sales DoorDash-driven purchases will contribute to this year’s overall volume at David’s Bridal, she said sales are expected to double initial projections. Another bright spot for the Conshohocken, Pa.-based company is “Adored by David’s,” a resale program. Half of its pre-owned sales are in bridal, and one-third more is driven by occasion wear, Cook said.
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