DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH), one of the world’s leading local commerce platforms, is launching its most significant update to its advertising platform to date, introducing a new suite of AI-powered tools and announcing the acquisition of ad tech platform Symbiosys to expand offsite advertising capabilities. Symbiosys is a next-generation retail media platform that helps brands expand their reach into digital channels, such as search, social, and display, and enables retailers to extend the breadth of their retail media networks. These updates reflect DoorDash’s bold investment in global ad technology—empowering businesses with greater control, clearer results and insights on their performance, and new ways to connect with customers both on and beyond the platform.
Today, more than 150,000 advertisers — from global CPG leaders and Fortune 500 retailers to local restaurants — use the platform to reach high-intent customers, drive incremental sales, and grow their businesses. In 2024, DoorDash and Wolt Ads crossed an annualized advertising revenue run rate of over $1 billion across the 30+ countries where we operate. Reaching this scale in just three years makes us the fastest-growing retail media network in history and a leading global growth engine driving local commerce.
“We’re building the future of local commerce advertising,” said Toby Espinosa, VP of Ads at DoorDash. “With new product capabilities, AI-powered tools, and Symbiosys’ offsite reach, businesses of any size can now connect with high-intent consumers seamlessly. Moving forward, every business from local owner-operators to the largest global brands will have the opportunity to grow on DoorDash and beyond with the click of a button.”
What’s New and Upcoming in DoorDash Ads
For Restaurants
● AI Tooling For Campaigns, Targeting, and Discounts: SMB restaurant merchants provide us with their goals, targets, and budget, and then our AI solutions will do the heavy lifting to create customized campaigns that deliver results.
● Interest Targeting and Category Share Insights on Ads Manager: Leveraging new insights, restaurants can grow their reputation in specific food categories to expand their core customer base.
● Report Builder: Easily track marketing spend with access to detailed reports, custom insights, and summaries across channels.
● Financial Reconciliation: Providing more granular data in financial reporting, including marketing spend details, to help merchants reconcile financials easily.
Brands
● Sponsored Brand Enhancements: Stand out to consumers scrolling in-app with engaging new creative visuals like video formats, display images, and product carousels. ● Ads Manager Reporting Metrics: Gain deeper insights and measure brand impact with Brand Halo Metrics. Track engagement and performance with Video View Metrics.
● Expanding Sponsored Product Ads to Global Search: Reach consumers actively searching for specific items within categories such as Alcohol, Retail, and more, making it easier for people to find exactly what each brand offers.
Grow Offsite Reach
● The acquisition of Symbiosys, valued at $175 million, brings more offsite advertising opportunities to the DoorDash Ads platform. Symbiosys’ self-serve platform lets advertisers run campaigns across search, social, and display, all integrated with DoorDash’s closed-loop measurement system.
● With Symbiosys, brands can reach consumers beyond the DoorDash app and help drive incremental off-platform sales with greater transparency and control.
To explore the new tools, visit the new DoorDash Ads website. For more information on Wolt Ads, visit the Wolt Ads website.
