ALEXANDRIA, Va.—7-Eleven has reportedly acquired Skipcart, a four-year-old food-delivery startup, reports The Information. Skipcart was founded in 2018 in San Antonio and has more than 150,000 drivers in the U.S. and Canada. The company connects retailers, grocers, and restaurants with its local driver network giving the option to offer their customers delivery in as little as 30 minutes.

The Information reports that the acquisition is significant, as it could impact how 7-Eleven does business with DoorDash. Currently, 7-Eleven uses DoorDash to deliver orders to 7-Eleven customers who shop through the DoorDash app or use the 7NOW delivery app. The Information also reports that the move helps 7-Eleven compete more directly with other third-party delivery apps.

Skipcart recently closed on $11.54 million in a Series A fundraising round, according to a Jan. 26 document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In May, Skipcart announced a partnership with technology platform DeliverB4 on a new outsourced delivery program to save restaurants money on delivery fees and give visibility to their customers.

Earlier this year, 7-Eleven introduced a subscription service for its 7NOW delivery app called 7NOW Gold Pass, offering free delivery, products and rewards. The pass is $5.95 a month. In late 2021, 7-Eleven partnered with alcohol delivery platform Drizly to deliver alcohol from over 1,200 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. in under an hour. The move broadened 7-Eleven’s customer base for alcohol delivery services, plus other convenience items.

Food-delivery apps are facing slow growth, decades-high inflation and a potential economic slowdown. Apps, such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub, were used heavily by consumers during the pandemic, when eateries were closed to inside patrons. But now that the pandemic has waned and rising prices weigh on the American consumer, food-delivery apps are offering new ads and deals to attract customers, updating their apps to encourage more spending and deliver more than food to keep and attract new customers.

According to the NACS “Last Mile Fulfillment in Convenience Retail” report, 61% of retailers are satisfied with their third-party delivery partners. Concerns include high fees, little access to consumer data, difficulties delivering age-restricted products and service and operational issues.

Here’s what c-stores are doing to make delivery work for their businesses.