Dive Brief:

• Walgreens and DoorDash are teaming up to deliver a range of convenience, health and wellness items to customers in the Chicago, Atlanta and Denver areas. The two companies plan to expand the service to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle by the end of the summer, according to a Thursday press release.

• DoorDash app users and DashPass subscribers can order more than 2,300 items through the service for now. The companies aim to offer more than 5,000 products to customers by the end of this summer, according to the statement. 

• DashPass subscribers can have free deliveries for orders of $12 or more. DoorDash is offering its app or website users 20% off of Walgreens purchases on their first order of $15 or more, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Walgreens joins a growing list of stores enlisting delivery providers to transport essentials conveniently and safely. Costco and Rite Aid have tapped Instacart, and 7-Eleven opted to work with DoorDash, Postmates and Favor Delivery. 

Walgreens and DoorDash's collaboration follows a broader pattern of restaurant delivery apps repurposing their restaurant workforce for grocery and general merchandise delivery. Uber introduced contactless delivery services in April and announced a partnership with Cornershop earlier this month to transport groceries in Miami and Dallas.  

"In light of the ongoing crisis, we will continue to provide customers with access to the supplies they need to maintain a well-cared for and healthy at-home environment," Fuad Hannon, head of new verticals at DoorDash, said in a statement. 

Walgreens' relationship with DoorDash is another step toward offering customers more convenient service, Stefanie Kruse, vice president of digital commerce and omnichannel at Walgreens, noted in a company statement. The drugstore chain introduced its order-ahead service for drive-thru customers in May. Earlier this month, the company announced its $1 billion investment deal with VillageMD to open up to 700 clinics nationwide over the next five years. 

"We continue to offer additional ways to get essential retail products into the hands of customers at their door stoop or wherever and whenever is most convenient for them," Kruse said in a statement.