DoorDash has expanded its advertising business into a broader commerce media platform, including "Spotlight," a premium homepage format.
The upgrade adds new measurement tools through a LiveRamp partnership, automation features, and global off-site advertising through Symbiosys.
The updates span DoorDash, Wolt, and Deliveroo, giving more than 400,000 advertisers access to tools designed to reach delivery and retail audiences.
"Consumers come to DoorDash ready to buy, and that's a fundamentally different opportunity for advertisers than most platforms can offer," said Toby Espinosa, VP of Ads at DoorDash, in a press release.
As retail media networks compete for ad dollars, the company is positioning around purchase intent, first-party data, and closed-loop measurement.
DoorDash Stakes a Bigger Claim in Retail Media
Spotlight gives restaurants and consumer packaged goods brands a larger visual canvas when customers open the app.
Early testing by the company found Spotlight generated twice the click-through rate of traditional banner ads.
It also reported that first-time customers accounted for more than 20% of restaurant sales and more than 36% of CPG sales generated through the format.
Offsite advertising through Symbiosys supports campaigns across search, social, and display channels while connecting performance data back to commerce outcomes.
Advertisers are also gaining additional automation features.
Smart Campaigns now support buy-one-get-one promotions alongside existing discount offers.
Auto-bidding helps CPG advertisers optimize toward minimum return-on-ad-spend goals.
The growth strategy reflects how delivery platforms are evolving into media businesses that monetize consumer intent alongside transactions.
Commerce Media Competes on Results
Retail media growth is increasingly tied to one promise: proving that advertising drives measurable sales.
DoorDash's expansion comes as U.S. retail media ad spending is projected to exceed $69 billion in 2026, up from nearly $59 billion in 2025.
The same forecast found that more than 89% of new retail media spending next year will flow to Amazon and Walmart.
This raises pressure on smaller networks to differentiate through data, measurement, and customer acquisition.
DoorDash is making its case with scale and performance metrics.
The company's ad business surpassed a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate as of 2024, while Spotlight ads generated two times higher click-through rates in testing.
The new LiveRamp measurement partnership found more than 80% of consumers reached were new to advertisers.
As retail media matures, advertisers are looking beyond impressions and clicks to determine which platforms can generate incremental customers and sales.
- Measurement drives investment. Brands should prioritize platforms that connect media exposure to verified business outcomes.
For DoorDash, that connection runs through its new LiveRamp partnership, which ties off-site campaign performance directly back to purchase data across DoorDash, Wolt, and Deliveroo. - New customer reach matters more than audience size. Marketers should evaluate channels based on incrementality to improve acquisition efficiency.
- Automation improves scalability. Teams should adopt AI-powered bidding and campaign tools to increase performance.
The platforms that combine purchase intent and closed-loop measurement will be best positioned to capture the next wave of commerce media spending.
Our Take: Can Delivery Apps Become Major Media Players?
Success depends on proving that unique customer access translates into sustainable advertiser growth.
DoorDash's most notable claim is that more than 80% of consumers reached through some campaigns were new to advertisers' customer bases.
This figure addresses one of retail media's biggest challenges: proving incremental reach rather than reshuffling existing audiences.
If DoorDash can preserve audience quality, we think it could strengthen its position in a market currently dominated by larger commerce platforms.
Commerce media spending is growing, and brands need clearer visibility into what drives customer acquisition and sales.
Explore these top performance marketing agencies to find partners that connect media investment to measurable business outcomes.
