DoorDash Will Now Pick Up Your Return In 30 Minutes, Which Is Faster Than You Decided To Buy It

SAN FRANCISCO—DoorDash will now send a courier to your home to pick up a return in about 30 minutes, the company said, giving American shoppers, for the first time in history, a way to undo a purchase faster than they made it.

Modern Retail reported that DoorDash is charging $7.99 for return pickups that arrive in about 30 minutes, rolling out nationwide in November, and that returns are becoming a bigger focus across commerce. Gartner found 35% of shoppers cite a return policy when deciding where to buy.

"I bought a lamp at 9:01 p.m. during a livestream," said Marisol Tenney, 34, a fictional shopper in Austin. "By 9:40 a Dasher was at my door taking it away. I never even took the plastic off. It was the shortest relationship I have ever had, and the healthiest."

Return experts said the speed changes the emotional math of shopping. For decades, a return required finding a box, finding tape, finding a printer, and finding the will to live. Most people gave up somewhere between the tape and the printer, and kept the sweater out of spite.

Time Between Buying Something And Wanting It Gone

Livestream, after 9 p.m.	39 min
One-click, on the couch	72 min
In store, with a friend saying "get it"	180 min
Gift from an aunt	1 min
A mattress, after a long talk	1,440 min

Source: The Daily SKU Regret Desk; 288 shoppers, one stopwatch, nobody proud of their answers

"It was the shortest relationship I have ever had, and the healthiest."

Now, retailers worry, regret is instant and cheap. "We used to count on the tape," said a fictional vice president of e-commerce at a home goods brand. "The tape was our best retention tool. Nobody wants to find the tape."

Dashers said the new work is different from food delivery. "With a burrito, people are happy to see me," said one fictional courier. "With a return, they hand me the box without making eye contact. One woman whispered, please do not tell it I said goodbye."

At press time, a fictional man in Phoenix had placed a DoorDash order and a DoorDash return for the same item at the same time, and was waiting to see which courier arrived first.