Use this article to understand every channel available for driving app downloads and first orders on your Custom-Branded Mobile App: what DoorDash sets up for you automatically, what you can add digitally, and what works in-store — plus what adoption typically looks like at each stage and how to track your results. For a step-by-step walkthrough of running a CRM campaign, see the Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign section below; for background on promo code types generally, see Customer Incentives & Promotions.
Why This Matters
Customers who use your Custom-Branded Mobile App behave differently than customers who order through a browser, and that difference is why actively driving app adoption is worth the effort:
App users order roughly 30% more frequently than web customers.
App users reorder at 2x the rate of web customers.
App users are 150% more likely to become repeat customers.
Merchants who launched an app saw app-user spend grow 35% over six months.
At 20% app adoption, merchants typically see roughly a 7% lift in total sales.
Note: These are directional benchmarks from DoorDash merchant data, not a guarantee for every account — but they're the reason app adoption is worth actively driving rather than leaving to chance.
What DoorDash Already Does For You
DoorDash automatically enables four channels on your account that drive Custom-Branded Mobile App downloads without any setup from you. Together, these turnkey channels typically drive around 30% app adoption on their own.
Storefront Web Banner
When a customer views your online ordering menu on mobile, a banner at the top of the page directs them to download your Custom-Branded Mobile App instead of ordering through the browser, routed automatically to the correct App Store (Apple App Store or Google Play).
Order Confirmation Prompt
After a customer places a web order, the order confirmation page includes a prompt to download your app for faster ordering next time. This is a high-intent moment, since the customer has just demonstrated they'll buy from you.
Order Tracking Page Upsell
While a customer's order is in progress, the order tracking page promotes your app for real-time order tracking — a moment when the customer is actively engaged and checking back.
Auto CRM / Loyalty Emails
If you're on the Pro package with Loyalty set up, your automated CRM emails (welcome, re-engagement, reward earned) already include a link to download your app. Customers typically need to see an offer 3–8 times before acting, so this repeated, passive exposure matters.
Digital Tactics You Can Set Up
Beyond the automatic channels described above, you can set up the following digital tactics to further increase Custom-Branded Mobile App downloads.
Smart Button With App Call-to-Action
A Smart Button is a floating button and/or pop-up on your own website that promotes your app alongside online ordering. It is most effective when paired with a loyalty sign-up bonus. Website traffic is the single biggest source of app downloads — 80% of your customers are already ordering from their phones — and merchandising the app this way sees a 10–50% lift in downloads.
Note: Your account team can help set up the Smart Button, or you can grant DoorDash access to build it for you.
Apple Maps App Clips
For merchants on Apple Maps, an App Clip is a lightweight version of your app that lets nearby customers try ordering instantly without a full download, then prompts them to install the full app afterward for loyalty and faster reordering. Where available, App Clips have driven a 72% increase in pickup conversion for customers who click through.
Note: App Clips are rolling out to more merchants over time. Ask your account team whether App Clips are available for your account.
Social Media
Social media is the second-biggest driver of app downloads after your website. If you have 500 or more followers on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, promoting your app on social media is worth doing:
Add your app download link to your social media bio.
Post about the app directly, featuring screenshots, a QR code, and your sign-up bonus front and center.
Use local-area and cuisine hashtags.
Post at launch, then quarterly or monthly tied to a new campaign, such as new menu items, holidays, or promos.
Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign
The Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign is the most detailed app-adoption tactic to execute well. It is built around one promo code, restricted to your mobile app channel only, that offers a discount on a customer's first order placed through the app, limited to one redemption per customer.
In one real example of this mechanic, a merchant ran a 50%-off-first-order app-only promo code and used it to grow their app's share of orders significantly over about one month.
Important: This kind of promo is typically merchant-funded, not DoorDash-subsidized. Confirm funding and subsidy terms with your account team before launching — do not assume DoorDash is covering the discount.
The Core Mechanic: Let the Channel Do the Targeting
The Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign relies on a limitation in the Merchant Portal, rather than fighting it. The Merchant Portal has no way to filter an email send by whether a customer already has your app installed — there is no app-ownership audience filter available.
Email goes to your full customer base. This works because customers who already have your app tend to ignore an app-download pitch that isn't relevant to them, while customers who don't have the app are the ones who act on it. You are not excluding app owners directly — the offer does that filtering for you.
Push notifications only reach customers who already have your app installed, by definition, so push is not used to reach non-downloaders. Push has a different job later in the sequence — see Stage 2 below.
The Two-Stage Sequence
The Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign runs in two stages: an email launch to your full customer base, followed by a push notification to a specific segment of new downloaders.
Stage 1 — Email Launch to Your Full Base. Send an email to your entire customer list with your app-only first-order promo code front and center. In one real campaign, a launch email sent to 110,149 customers saw a 38.2% open rate and a 4.2% click rate, and new app downloads jumped 264% (from 332 to 1,208) within days of the send. These numbers are from one specific campaign, not a guaranteed benchmark for every merchant, but they show the scale of lift this kind of send can produce.
The problem this reveals: a download is not a redemption. In that same campaign, roughly 92% of the customers who downloaded the app in that first wave had not yet placed an order a short time later. Getting a customer to download your app does not mean they have used it.
Stage 2 — A Follow-Up Push to Convert Downloads Into Orders. Once you have a meaningful number of new downloaders who have not redeemed the offer yet, send that specific segment a push notification. This push message is different from your launch email — it assumes the customer already has the app and just needs a nudge to finish the job (for example, "your discount is still waiting") rather than a generic "download our app" pitch.
Note: In the real campaign this playbook is based on, the push was deliberately held back until the new-downloader segment grew large enough to be worth sending to — it started as small as 64 customers. Don't send a push to a segment too small to matter; wait until it has grown.
Cadence
Follow this cadence when running your Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign:
Send about one email per week while the offer is fresh — results tend to decay back toward baseline roughly 4 days after a send.
Drop to monthly refreshers once your initial push has run its course.
Stay within a 4–8 sends per month total band across all your CRM campaigns, not just this one.
Keep one clear offer per send so you can accurately read your results.
In-Store Tactics
In-store tactics are the most effective way to reach customers who are already walking through your door. Layering in-store tactics on top of the digital tactics above is what pushes app adoption from roughly 30% to 50% or more.
A-frame sidewalk signage — the highest-performing in-store option. Place it outside your entrance, in customers' direct path, with a QR code and a clear immediate reward.
Table toppers / table tents — placed on tables and order-pickup counters, where customers see them while they're waiting. A captive-audience moment.
Bag stuffers — printed flyers with a QR code, included in pickup and delivery orders to introduce marketplace customers to your own app. Staple bag stuffers to the outside of the bag — inserts left inside are routinely thrown away with napkins and never seen.
Window clings — signage on your storefront windows, reaching walk-by foot traffic even before customers enter.
Staff mentions at checkout — train staff to simply mention the app during a transaction (for example, "Did you know we have our own app? You can earn rewards and skip the line next time"). No materials needed, and a personal recommendation is more persuasive than signage alone.
Receipt QR codes — a QR code printed on the receipt linking to your app, if your point-of-sale (POS) system supports custom receipt content.
Note: DoorDash provides print-ready templates for A-frames, table toppers, bag stuffers, and window clings — print through your local print shop or an online service such as Vistaprint. All of these should use the universal link (or its QR code) provided by your implementation representative, so customers are always routed to the correct App Store automatically.
What Adoption Looks Like at Each Stage
Based on DoorDash merchant data (median 10%, mean approximately 20% adoption across merchants with active apps, in the first 8 weeks), Custom-Branded Mobile App adoption typically progresses through three stages:
No active promotion: well below 20% adoption, this is what happens if you launch the app and do nothing further.
Turnkey digital tactics only (the automatic channels described in "What DoorDash Already Does For You" above): approximately 30% adoption, with no effort on your part.
Digital + in-store tactics (adding A-frames, bag stuffers, table toppers, and staff mentions): 50% or more adoption, this requires active promotion on your end, but it's where the real gains are.
This Is a Phase, Not a Forever Campaign
Run active app-adoption tactics — especially app-restricted promo codes and app-centric CRM sends — while your Custom-Branded Mobile App's share of total Storefront (1P) orders is still low. Once your app reaches a healthy share of your order mix, shift your primary marketing to broader offers that aren't restricted to the app channel, rather than continuing to center every campaign on downloads.
In the campaign the Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign playbook above is based on, the merchant's app grew to 31.3% of their 1P orders, well above a 9.4% peer benchmark. At that point, the app-specific promo code was kept running as a standing acquisition offer in the background, but stopped being the centerpiece of new campaigns going forward. The same logic applies to in-store signage and social posts: keep the channels running, just stop leading with "download our app" once most of your customers already have it.
Related: Loyalty
Digital-Only Loyalty is a natural next step once your Custom-Branded Mobile App adoption is healthy — it shifts your focus from acquisition (getting the download) to retention (keeping app customers ordering). See Driving Loyalty Adoption for details.
Quick Launch Checklist
Use this checklist to confirm you have each Custom-Branded Mobile App adoption tactic in place:
Smart Button and website pop-up
Social media link in bio
First social media post
First Custom CRM email / text blast
App download promotion (sign-up bonus)
A-frame sidewalk signage
Table toppers / table tents
Bag stuffers, stapled to the outside of the bag
Window clings
Staff trained to mention the app at checkout
Track Your Progress
App download metrics aren't yet available in the DCP Reporting Dashboard — that's a known gap, not something specific to your account. In the meantime:
For your Custom CRM Email / Text Campaign specifically, use your promo code's redemption report in the Merchant Portal, which shows redemption count and discount amount.
For other tactics (signage, social media, Smart Button), watch your app's recent-install trend rather than expecting a single dashboard number — that's how these are measured today, even without a dedicated app-download metric.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start if I haven't done anything yet? Start with what's free and fast: add your app link to your social media bio and post once, then set up the Smart Button on your website. Those two tactics alone move you well past the roughly 30% adoption you're already getting automatically. Layer in in-store signage and your first CRM email once those are live.
Does DoorDash pay for the CRM discount code? Typically no — that promo is usually fully merchant-funded. Confirm funding and subsidy terms with your account team before launching.
Why send the CRM promo to my whole customer list instead of just non-app-users? The Merchant Portal can't filter a send by app ownership. Sending broadly works because existing app users tend to ignore an offer they don't need, while non-app-users are the ones who act on it.
How do I know when to send the follow-up push? Send it once you have a meaningful number of new downloaders who haven't redeemed the offer yet — watch your app's recent-install trend rather than waiting a fixed number of days.
Do I need 500 or more social followers to bother posting about the app? That's the threshold where DoorDash data shows posting is clearly worth the effort. Below that threshold, it's still fine to post — just don't expect it to be a primary channel yet.
What is an App Clip, and do I have access to it? An App Clip is a lightweight version of your app that Apple Maps users can try instantly without a full download. It's rolling out to more merchants over time — ask your account team if it's available for your account.
Should I keep running app-promotion tactics forever? No. Run them while your app adoption is low. Once your app reaches a healthy share of your order mix, shift your primary marketing to broader, non-app-restricted offers — you can keep the channels running, just stop leading with "download our app."
How do I measure results if the Dashboard doesn't show app downloads yet? Use your promo code's redemption report in the Merchant Portal for CRM campaigns specifically, and watch your app's recent-install trend for everything else — that's the closest available signal until app-download metrics are added to the Dashboard.
Questions? If you need help with this process or have questions, reach out to DoorDash Support at oosupport@doordash.com.