2023 was all about milestones. While DoorDash celebrated its 10th anniversary and a decade of empowering local communities, we know our customers celebrated special moments, too. Whether it was a birthday, graduation, holiday, game day or just because – this year, customers celebrated the moments that mattered. From serving up the best of your local neighborhood cuisine to coming in clutch with the perfect gift that you definitely didn’t forget about, no matter how big or small these moments were, DoorDash was there to make sure you have everything you need.
Since the inception of DoorDash in 2013, DoorDash has grown from the app that can get you your favorite Pad Thai to the platform that can get you almost anything. Today, you can order everything from dinner to groceries, to your favorite team’s jersey, to that new lip gloss you saw on TikTok, and so much more. Let’s say you’re getting ready for a night out and realize you desperately need some emergency eyelash glue (seriously, it’s the most ordered beauty product this year). Done. And when you get to the party, you can replenish your friend’s cinnamon whiskey* with a quick order from the corner store (so nice of you!). Tomorrow morning, you can recover with an egg sandwich and ibuprofen dashed to your door before you’ve even gotten out of bed. All the essentials, covered.
Today, we’re unveiling Dash From the Past 2023 and Dash From the Past: A Decade Delivered, which checks in on popular trends as we celebrate the best of what users have dashed over the past year, and over the past decade.
Using DoorDash order data from January 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023, we bring you DoorDash’s Dash From the Past 2023 Trend Report.
2023 Trends at a Glance:
Persistent Planners: When life gets busy, DoorDash’s schedule ahead feature makes it even easier to check everything off your list and ensure it arrives right when you need it. Chicago is the city that plans orders ahead the most, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Philadelphia!
Holiday Hangovers: On the days after holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, and New Year’s Eve, we saw orders spike for ibuprofen (upwards of 400% the day after Halloween for certain types of ibuprofen!). Some customers have the gift of foresight, using DoubleDash to add on recovery (or hair of the dog) essentials from nearby stores. The top items paired with ibuprofen included Cheesesteaks, Cognac, Nacho Fries, Bacon Egg and Cheese, and Cold Brew!
Quirky Combos: This year, we also saw some unique combinations! The most unexpected DoubleDash pairings included hot sauce and cinnamon twists, hashbrowns and soda, and fries and chili.
Beauty in the blink of an eye: As consumers leaned into the latest trends like glazed donut skin and DIY lashes, many makeup and beauty items remained a staple in consumers’ carts. Lash Glue was the top ordered beauty item this year, while Charlotte Tilbury’s setting spray topped the charts for the top ordered makeup item.
More caffeine, please: While coffee fueled the nation, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston brewed up the most coffee orders this year! The top coffee orders this year included Iced Caramel Macchiato, Cold Brew, Iced French Vanilla Coffee, Iced Mocha, and Americano!
How Sweet: No meal is complete without a little something sweet after (iykyk), and this year’s favorite treats spanned an array of decadent desserts. The top ordered desserts this year, included donuts, chocolate brownies, and strawberry cheesecake!
Top Eats, Drinks, and More
No fork, no problem: In addition to fries defending its spot as the most ordered food of the year (and the past decade!), this year was all about finger foods, with many indulging in items best enjoyed without utensils, like mozzarella sticks, wings, pepperoni pizza, and chips & queso.
Top Ordered Food Nationwide
Fries
Chicken Quesadilla
Mozzarella Sticks
Garlic Naan
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Pepperoni Pizza
Chips & Queso
Traditional Wings
Cobb Salad
Fried Rice
Fruit Frenzy: This year, consumers leaned into healthy habits, stocking up on ample fruits like bananas, roma tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries!
Top Grocery Orders Nationwide
Bananas
Roma Tomatoes
Strawberries
Cucumber
Cilantro
Whole Milk
Eggs
Iceberg Lettuce
Red Onion
Blueberries
Raising a Glass*: While liquors and wines like Vodka, Tequila, Seltzers, and Sauvignon Blanc remain staples of gatherings (and bar cart decor), two new drinks of choice emerged this year – whiskey and rum! We saw a 648% increase in whiskey orders and a 317% increase in rum. We’ll cheers to that!
Top Ordered Alcohol Nationwide*
Vodka
Hard Seltzer
Tequila
Sauvignon Blanc
Prosecco
Whiskey
Pinot Grigio
Lager Beer
Pinot Noir
Rum
It’s the thought that counts: Whether it’s a big milestone or just to show you care, consumers sent an array of gifted orders – from flowers to food (and even deodorant) – to loved ones this year. Los Angeles showed the most love this year, with the City of Angels gifting the most!
From, yours truly: With DoorDash’s Gifting feature, by simply clicking “send as a gift” during checkout, you can turn any order into a gift order, equipped with a personalized message. This year things got personal – Gifting message highlights included:
“For my hangry girl..you are not you if you’re hungry”
Watching murder shows and loving you is all I wanna do!!!!!!!
“For ur stanky armpits lmaoo”
You can save the world and drink water at the same time 🤗 Take care of yourself today. 💙
“Whether you like it or not, it’s your birthday!”
Along with orders, we receive millions of special requests and delivery instructions. Which cities are the most particular? Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta entered the most special requests in 2023! So much extra ranch and lots of furry friends were included in requests nationwide. Here are some of the highlights:
“Can you please get extra ketchup please lots of it, and a lot of ranch please thank you”
“Please ranch ranch ranch!”
“Please make sure my food gets in my hand, my neighbors have sticky hands”
"Please don't knock. our dogs will bark, and then everything descends into chaos.”
“Don’t ring doorbell, dogs will eat you jk”
New Year, New Trends
As we close out the year, we took a look at what trends we expect to see this Holiday season and beyond. More of what’s to come in 2024:
Holiday Hosting, Delivered: This year, we saw more consumers ordering delivery for their guests while hosting. With the holidays upon us and as we move into the new year, we expect more consumers will use delivery for their hosting needs – whether it’s to get the secret ingredient for that famous family recipe or festive decor to perfect their holiday tablescape.
More Business and Pleasure: “Bleisure” travel is on the rise and next year we predict more people will be combining their business travel with personal leisure, leading to extended stays and more opportunities to explore.
Living Like a Local: With the increase of “slow travel,” more consumers are emphasizing connection with local people and culture vs. more traditional tourist behaviors. As travel season approaches, we anticipate seeing more people lean into making their vacation destinations feel more like home, with an increase in activities like cooking while traveling!
Never Missing a Moment: The power of fandoms reigned supreme this year. From sports, music, film releases and more, consumers leaned into the things they loved. This year, we saw an uptick in orders for items like jerseys after big team wins and accessories for lovers of one iconic doll’s debut on the big screen this summer. We expect this trend to continue, with consumers using on-demand delivery to get everything they need to showcase team pride, send bragging rights, or build connections during cultural moments.
Late Night Snacking: with the rise of trends like girl dinner this year, 2024 will be the year of late night snacking, with more consumers ordering delivery for food during late night hours. We’ve seen a 36% year-over-year increase in late night DoorDash orders** (orders between midnight - 5am.)
Dash From the Past: A Decade Delivered
In 2013, things started off small, with a simple idea. How can we help your favorite local restaurant get its Pad Thai to your doorstep easier? Ten years — and millions of orders of Pad Thai — later, our business may have grown, but our mission to empower local communities remains the same. Since our founding 10 years ago, we’re proud to have facilitated 5 billion consumer orders, driven over $100 billion in sales for merchants, and helped Dashers earn over $35 billion through the platform.
And while our business has evolved over the past decade, so have our customers. Today, we’re looking back on the decade to see how much our tastes have changed since 2013 and what’s stayed consistent — our passion for chicken sandwiches, for one. Looking at DoorDash order data from 2013 to 2023, we bring you Dash From the Past: A Decade Delivered.
When we looked back on 10 years of DoorDash data, some details surprised us, but some just made sense. Like the most ordered food on DoorDash of all time: French fries. A perfect food that (almost) no one’s making at home. Since 2013, more than 600 million (!) orders of fries have been delivered by Dashers who made sure to get that bag to us when we craved it most.
Cuisine Cravings: While we’ve added an array of diverse cuisines to the platform over the past 10 years, the love for American food held strong. American food is the top ordered cuisine over the past decade, followed by Mexican food!
A Dash Down Memory Lane
The top ordered foods in 2013 are a time capsule of a different era, when leather shorts were a fashion statement and hummus was king:
Top Ordered Foods Nationwide
Chipotle Chicken Sandwich
Pork Potstickers
Tomato Bisque Soup
Cobb Salad
Sweet potato Fries
Guacamole
Hummus
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Tacos
Pita
What’s for dessert? In 2013, it was:
Strawberry Cheesecake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Cheesecake
Want it? Need it? Dash it – DoorDash Expands Beyond Restaurants
While DoorDash started out as a restaurant delivery platform, we expanded beyond food to offer consumers all the best of their neighborhood. Regardless of if it’s pampering your loved ones, stocking your home with groceries and more for your family, or simply treating yourself, you can have it all delivered on-demand.
It’s safe to say we all got into cooking, for better or for worse, in 2020. DoorDash began offering grocery delivery right when we needed it most, getting us all the fresh staples delivered on demand, especially when we were mid-recipe and realized we couldn’t finish dinner without cilantro.
The top ordered grocery items over the past three years:
Bananas
Roma tomatoes
Cucumber
Strawberries
Cilantro
Iceberg lettuce
Whole milk
Blueberries
Roasted Chicken
Limes
Let’s raise a glass to iceberg lettuce. Didn’t see that one coming.
Soon after groceries, DoorDash expanded to retail spaces that cover an array of goods, and the top-ordered retail items seem to contain the mysteries of the universe:
Printer Paper
Microfiber Bed Pillow
Fragrance Free Baby Wipes
High Velocity Fan
Laundry Detergent
Incense Sticks
Takeaway Containers
Cotton Bath Towel
USPS Forever Stamps
AA Batteries
What story do these items tell about our lives? If we had to guess, there are office workers replenishing their printers, then taking a nap on a plush new pillow under their desk, and freshening up from the nap with a face wipe…maybe?
It was only a matter of time until we expanded into alcohol delivery in 2021*, and there’s no contest what the top-ordered alcohol was: Vodka. Clear and versatile, it’s the crucial ingredient in Cosmopolitans, Bloody Marys, and regrets. But there’s soon to be stiff competition from hard seltzer, whose orders have increased 83% YOY!
Top Ordered Alcohol Since 2021*
Vodka
Cabernet Sauvignon
Prosecco
Irish Whiskey
Cinnamon Whiskey
Pinot Grigio
Pinot Noir
Hard Seltzer
Tequila
Moscato
We were in full bloom when we launched flower delivery in 2022, and to date over 1.2M orders from flower shops have been delivered. Roses are the most popular bouquet of choice, followed by tulips and sunflowers!
Top Ordered Flowers
Red Roses
Pink Roses
White Roses
Tulips
Sunflowers
A lot happened in the world in the past 10 years, and you’d be surprised at how many global events got us snackish:
2015: The 2015 Big Game was the most viewed one to date, and DoorDash orders that day stayed on-theme with the teams (for those who’ve forgotten, it was the New England vs. Seattle), with some of the top ordered items included edamame, lemon pepper wings, clam chowder, and spicy tuna rolls!
2016: On Election Day in 2016, customers sought comfort in sweets like chocolate cookies, donuts, and double scoops of ice cream. (We saw the same trend during the 2020 election, too.)
2018: The royal wedding in 2018 saw an uptick in orders of staple foods from across the pond, like scones and tea, if you please.
2020: And in early 2020, the pandemic was defined by rolls upon rolls of toilet paper. There was a 200% increase in orders for that soft essential between April and May of 2020.
2023: Food trends continued to heat up in 2023 (or should we say cool down?) as the TikTok-famous Fruit Roll Up Ice Cream hack entered the scene. This year, there was a 1500% increase in orders containing both the fruity and sweet portions of this renowned combo compared to the same time period in 2022.
*Must be 21+ to order alcohol. Drink responsibly. Alcohol available only in select markets.
**According to DoorDash order data from January 2021 through December 2022
