For Australian parents juggling work, school runs, children’s sports commitments and endless household tasks, the annual school Book Week costume parade has long been a source of last-minute stress. Countless moms and dads have felt the panic of discovering a crumpled permission slip tucked in a child’s backpack just 24 hours before the event, left scrambling to sew, cut, or cobble together a costume fitting their kid’s favorite character from the latest book trend. Now, one major Australian department chain is stepping in to eliminate that annual chaos with a new logistics solution timed perfectly for this year’s Book Week.
Big W, one of the country’s leading mass merchandisers, has announced a new partnership with delivery platform DoorDash to roll out same-day delivery for thousands of its products, just in time to serve time-strapped families preparing for Book Week events. The new service follows internal company research that found nearly half of all Australian parents – 49 percent, to be exact – are forced to hunt for a Book Week costume at the eleventh hour, after putting the task off amid competing life demands.
“Every year we see Book Week become a race against the clock for many families,” said Ryan Gracie, Big W’s Chief Customer Officer. “Between school, work, sport and everything else, it’s easy for costume planning to slip down the list until suddenly the parade is just around the corner. Same-day delivery with DoorDash is a lifeline for busy families, particularly for unexpected and last minute needs. Whether it’s a Book Week costume pivot, a rainy-day craft kit, or emergency household supplies, families can now have those items delivered directly to their doors within hours.”
The service is built around a simple, accessible structure: customers who place their order before 12pm local time can get their purchase – whether that’s a classic Harry Potter robe, a Little Red Riding Hood cloak, or any other popular children’s costume – delivered straight to their doorstep before the end of the same day. For parents familiar with the annual last-minute rush, the announcement has been met with widespread relief.
Nat Alise, a Big W spokesperson and Queensland-based mother of two children aged 10 and 12, says she has first-hand experience with the last-minute Book Week scramble, having had her own kids pull forgotten notices out of their backpacks the day before a parade. She described her reaction to the new same-day delivery offering as a mix of excitement and relief.
“The fact that you can order it and get it delivered by the afternoon is incredible … especially when so much is going on in life,” Alise said. “I don’t know what parents are going to look at that and go ‘that’s not needed.’” Alise added that the service will put an end to the frantic ritual of rummaging through household closets for random bits and pieces to cobble together a homemade costume. While she enjoys adding small personal touches to pre-made costumes to make them special for her kids, she emphasized that the convenience of same-day delivery removes unnecessary stress for parents, noting that the magic of Book Week comes from kids getting to dress as their favorite character, regardless of whether the costume is homemade or pre-purchased. “If you’re making life easier for yourself and making your child happy … that’s a win,” she said.
Currently, the same-day delivery service is available to customers in select eligible postcodes across Australia, with thousands of Big W products available to order via the partnership. The company says it plans to expand access to additional areas over the coming weeks. For DoorDash, the partnership marks a major expansion of the platform’s offerings beyond its core food delivery service, aligning with its long-term mission to serve Australian households across all areas of daily life.
“We’re thrilled to help families tick off their to-do list without having to drop everything for a trip to the shops,” said Katy Roger, Head of Sales and Partnerships for DoorDash ANZ. “This partnership supports our mission to help Aussie households in all aspects of daily life, beyond food delivery.”