{"id":223380,"date":"2026-01-08T15:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223380\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:08:09","slug":"doordash-boss-on-nz-growth-ai-delivery-tools-and-2026-expansion-plans-summer-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223380\/","title":{"rendered":"DoorDash boss on NZ growth, AI delivery tools and 2026 expansion plans – Summer Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"Doing more for Kiwis at a time when every dollar counts. We will keep our focus on affordability while still supporting merchants and Dashers, and maintaining a consistently high-quality experience as we expand into more regions and categories. <\/p>\n
What opportunities do you see in 2026? <\/p>\n
2026 presents a significant opportunity for us to continue growing in a way that strengthens our local communities. From the outset, we\u2019ve prioritised supporting local businesses on our platform and that commitment only deepens next year. We want to help even more small operators, family-run stores and independent restaurants reach new customers and thrive in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n
We also see enormous potential in giving Kiwis more flexibility and earning opportunities through our Dasher community. As people look for work that fits around their lives, families and schedules, we\u2019re committed to providing safe, reliable and meaningful ways to earn. Creating more demand across more categories means more opportunities for Dashers too.<\/p>\n
How are you using AI to change your business? <\/p>\n
For merchants, AI assists with clear, on-brand menu descriptions, enhanced food photography to showcase dishes, and recommendations on pricing and promotions, helping local businesses grow more efficiently. <\/p>\n
For consumers, AI powers better search and recommendations, high-accuracy ETAs and clearer, more visual menus, so people can quickly find what they want and order with confidence.<\/p>\n
And for Dashers, AI supports efficient routing and batching and provides real-time assistance to keep deliveries smooth and on time.<\/p>\n
What will the key election issue be in 2026 and why? <\/p>\n
We know families are focused on finding value and savings to support cost of living, as well as balancing work and care duties. For many, delivery is no longer a luxury but a necessary part of life, which is why we are focused on bringing down costs for consumers so that all families can benefit from convenient delivery.<\/p>\n
We are looking forward to working with government stakeholders from across the Parliament in 2026, including on the Government\u2019s proposed Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which would provide legal certainty for Kiwis to continue to access flexible and secure work opportunities with platforms like DoorDash with a relatively low barrier to entry.<\/p>\n
How do you think the New Zealand economy will perform in 2026? <\/p>\n
In my view, it\u2019s on a positive trajectory and you can see this reflected among economists as we wrap the year. We\u2019ve had a good run of new business opportunities this year, meaning customer spending is on the up. <\/p>\n
Tourism is also resuming to pre-pandemic levels, which means more opportunities for our home-grown businesses as well. And there\u2019s general optimism across sectors.<\/p>\n
There are sure to be challenges, especially as global trade restrictions and conflicts persist, but I do believe we are performing well to withstand that.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the worst mistake you have made in business and what did you learn from it? <\/p>\n
The toughest moments have been when outcomes didn\u2019t match intent. What I learned is to stay curious, invite feedback early and move decisively on changes. Keeping that mindset turns setbacks into momentum and opportunity. That bias to experiment, listen hard to feedback and fix fast has probably taught me more than any single success. <\/p>\n
What would you rate as your greatest success? <\/p>\n
I don\u2019t see success as a single moment, but if I had to pick, it would be the team we\u2019ve built at DoorDash NZ and the impact we\u2019re having together. In a short time we\u2019ve grown a business that connects thousands of local restaurants and retailers with new customers, and supports flexible earning opportunities for around 19,000 Dashers. <\/p>\n
Seeing that translate into extra orders for a small business, or a Dasher being able to support their wh\u0101nau or studies, is what I\u2019m proudest of.<\/p>\n
Where and how are you holidaying this summer? <\/p>\n
I\u2019m heading down to Parapara in Golden Bay for a week with my family; lots of beach time, swims and doing as little as possible. After that I\u2019ll be around Auckland, settling into our new home and enjoying a few quieter days before the year ramps up again.<\/p>\n
What would you recommend as a good book\/podcast to read\/listen to over summer?<\/p>\n
For podcasts, I\u2019ve been enjoying No Such Thing As Normal with Sonia Gray, which dives into neurodiversity and different ways people\u2019s brains work. It\u2019s been really good for challenging my assumptions and learning more about how diverse teams think and operate.<\/p>\n
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doing more for Kiwis at a time when every dollar counts. We will keep our focus on affordability…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223381,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[836,2246,1443,365,95,4282,2941,138,31143,133805,13689,2294,3499,10938,302,93,111,139,69,90,51797,2171,17146,6926,14040,14625,301,113,50898,133806,80],"class_list":["post-223380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-836","tag-2246","tag-about","tag-ai","tag-and","tag-boss","tag-brad","tag-business","tag-delivery","tag-doordash","tag-expansion","tag-general","tag-growth","tag-herald","tag-its","tag-manager","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-performed","tag-plans","tag-questions","tag-season","tag-spend","tag-summer","tag-talks","tag-thomas","tag-tools","tag-utilising","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}