Liquor delivery specialist opens the taps for selection
It’s a shame (or maybe a good thing) Hemingway and Bukowski did not live in an age where a vast assortment of alcohol is available a click away.
Omnichannel beer/wine/liquor delivery service Drizly is launching a new service that provides digital drinkers with a product selection far beyond the scope of local stores. Currently available in Boston and Washington, D.C., Drizly Connect lets users shop across tens of thousands of beer, wine and spirits products for next-day delivery orders.
Drizly says the launch of Connect marks a “continued push to modernize the alcohol supply chain” by shortening the time it takes for consumers to locate and purchase desired items. Connect observes all local and federal regulations. For orders of items in stock at local liquor stores, Drizly will deliver in as little as one hour.
“Without Connect, when a customer walks into a liquor store and that retailer doesn’t carry the product they want, the customer either settles for something else or leaves empty-handed,” said Nick Rellas, CEO and co-founder of Drizly. “Connect gives Drizly users a seemingly endless aisle experience in the palm of their hand available next day, for the first time ever. This is Drizly’s next step in evolving the alcohol shopping experience.”
Drizly is not alone in offering on-demand alcohol delivery. Amazon delivers alcohol in as little as one hour through Prime Now in Seattle, New York City and San Diego. And Instacart is partnering with local omnichannel liquor retailer Vinodivino to offer Boston customers same-day delivery of wine, liquor, and beer.
However, by leveraging an exclusive relationship with the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America trade group, which is also a Drizly investor, the company can negotiate a maze of regulations to offer inventory straight from wholesale warehouses. This lets Drizly offer what is currently an unmatched selection for special orders. On-demand delivery of these products may not ever be feasible. However offering an inventory that goes beyond local stores gives the company a huge edge in executing omnichannel transactions for special occasions, gifts, collections, and other orders that do not require immediate fulfillment.