DoorDash’s acquisition of Instacart may not have obvious implications for apparel retail compared to the restaurant and grocery industries that have driven the platforms’ growth. But the $17 billion deal could test whether the fashion sector can scale its on-demand delivery ecosystem without having to build out larger physical networks.
Over the past year, DoorDash’s expansion into the apparel and fashion world has been noticeable considering how much apparel has lagged in on-demand delivery compared to categories like groceries and household items.
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In 2026 alone, the delivery provider entered new partnerships with Gap, Kohl’s, Carter’s and Urban Outfitters among others, before deepening a relationship with Macy’s late last month that extended two-hour delivery from more than 350 of the department store’s locations.
The deal comes as the “quick commerce” industry in the U.S. is still expected to grow another 22 percent in 2026, according to data from Coresight Research.
John Mercer, head of global research and managing director of retail research at Coresight, noted that there is “probably always going to be a natural cap” on the demand for same-day delivery for apparel products. But he sees an upside for the industry amid the wider scale that a combined DoorDash and Instacart would bring.
“It tends to offer incremental sales opportunities. It tends to be additional to what they would have sold otherwise,” said Mercer.
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