Picture this scenario: It’s dinnertime and you could really go for a Mountain Dew and some taquitos from your neighborhood 7-Eleven store.
But that store just a few blocks away feels worlds away from your couch. Panic sets in.
Fear not, dudes and dudettes. This week, 7-Eleven announced a partnership with DoorDash to begin delivery service of the chain’s merchandise in five cities, including Chicago.
It’s the latest option to emerge as third-party food and alcohol delivery services have become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Amazon has been testing the waters of alcohol delivery in Seattle, while companies like Minibar, Drizly and, most recently, the Los Angeles-based Saucey, are already open for business. Meanwhile, grocery delivery services like Peapod have been around for more than a decade.
In addition to Chicago, 7-Eleven delivery service is beginning immediately in New York and Los Angeles and will be available soon in Boston and Washington.
“By working with DoorDash, we can bring on-demand delivery to more people and more places,” said Raja Doddala, 7-Eleven’s vice president of innovation and omnichannel strategy.
The service, available through mobile apps or the DoorDash website, won’t deliver Slurpees, at least not initially. But it will include themed “convenience packs.”
For example, the “Date Night Pack,” available for $20 at a Chicago 7-Eleven, includes Ben &Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, an 8.4-ounce Red Bull energy drink, an 18-piece pack of Trident gum and a three-pack of Trojan Ultra Thin condoms.
The “Hangover Pack,” selling for $15, includes extra-strength acetaminophen, a 28-ounce fruit punch Gatorade, a large pepperoni pizza, and a smoked turkey and pepper jack sandwich.
Customers with less exciting lives can also order frozen foods, health care items, household goods and cleaning supplies, among other items. If the nearest 7-Eleven is out of stock on a given item, the DoorDash delivery driver would contact the customer to see if a substitute would be acceptable or possibly drive to another store, DoorDash spokesman Eitan Bencuya said.
“If you’re OK with Coke instead of Pepsi, we’ll just buy you a Coke,” Bencuya said.
Age-restricted items like alcohol and lottery tickets are not available for delivery. After an initial $2.99 delivery fee, delivery will cost $4.99 in Chicago, Bencuya said.
Although alcohol and Slurpees are not currently available for delivery, that could change, 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris said. “We’re working toward that, but we’re not there yet.”
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