November 5, 2025
This yr, in accordance with insights from DoorDash, cuffing season is in full swing, and the proof is within the knowledge.
Each fall, cuffing season arrives like clockwork -–, that unofficial stretch of months from October by means of February when informal flings flip into one thing somewhat extra intentional, as {couples} bunker down for cozy winters. This yr, in accordance with insights from DoorDash, cuffing season is in full swing, and the proof is within the knowledge.
The State of Cuffing Up: What the Orders Reveal
The story of cuffing season is written within the receipts. DoorDash knowledge exhibits that what individuals order, depart behind, and replace says extra about connection than any caption might. Order knowledge from Sept. 1 – Oct. 15, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2024 – February 28, 2025 (in comparison with Could 1 – Sept. 30, 2024), together with a survey of 1,000 adults ages 18–58, tells the complete story.
Defining the Relationship (and the Supply Deal with)
The “What are we?” speak nonetheless ranks among the many scariest relationship milestones, particularly for Gen Z. However relating to defining a supply deal with, individuals appear loads braver. The week of Sept. 1 hit an surprising excessive in DoorDash addresses labeled “bae” or “bf/gf,” proof that cuffing season (and new connections) kicked off forward of schedule this yr.
By the primary week of October, extensively acknowledged as the beginning of cuffing season, the pattern was rising once more. It’s proof that individuals usually act the half earlier than they are saying it, and in 2025, defining the supply deal with may simply be simpler than defining the connection.
Toothbrush Territory
The toothbrush has turn into cuffing season’s quiet MVP. DoorDash sees practically a 30% uptick in toothbrush and toothpaste orders between 5-9 p.m. on Thursdays by means of Saturdays as date nights get underway, and by the actually late hours (midnight to five a.m.), orders spike over 10%, suggesting a few of these date nights are turning into late nights that weren’t precisely deliberate. However there could be extra behind the order. In accordance with a DoorDash survey of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18-58 who’re single, relationship, or in a relationship, one in 4 daters admits to leaving a toothbrush behind on function, a small however unmistakable means of marking their territory. As one respondent put it, “I left my toothbrush to let him know I supposed on coming again.”
The “Ick” Issue
In accordance with the DoorDash survey, 68% say they’ve gotten “the ick” after seeing somebody’s dwelling, with muddle and dangerous hygiene topping the checklist. DoorDash knowledge exhibits orders for sheets, pillowcases, and blankets rise practically 80% throughout cuffing season. Name it the navy-sheet cleanout as individuals swap outdated habits (and outdated bedding) for one thing extra cuffing season prepared.
The Trendy State of Courting
Cuffing season isn’t fading; it’s evolving. Per the survey, 94% of singles say they’re collaborating in cuffing season this yr, proving it’s not a passing pattern however a fixture of tradition. Almost all Gen Z respondents (97%) say they plan to or may participate, exhibiting that youthful daters aren’t stepping again from connection; they’re simply rethinking the way it matches into their lives.
Courting as we speak mirrors Gen Z’s mindset: versatile, spontaneous, and somewhat extra on-demand — from late-night hangs to ordering in collectively. In reality, practically 70% of individuals surveyed say ordering in feels simply as, if no more, intimate than going out, proof that trendy romance runs on comfort.
Culturally, there’s been a shift from speaking a few relationship to subtly exhibiting the indicators of 1, from labeling an deal with “bae” to that late-night toothbrush order after a date. Individuals are expressing connection in smaller, extra private methods. The receipts usually inform the love story earlier than the phrases do.
As a result of in the long run, cuffing season isn’t nearly coupling up, it’s about settling in.
This story was produced by DoorDash and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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