Article byGlenn Lawler
‘The eight-year-old Boston-based
company, which has a market-
leading footprint in more than 1,400
cities across the U.S., offers beer,
wine and spirits delivered to
customers in less than an hour’
(Bloomberg Opinion).5
With a stuck at home order, a
virus plaguing the nation, and
many factors leading to the need
to “take the edge off”, Drizly’s
alcohol delivery service
application skyrocketed with
1,600 percent growth.
As restaurants pivoted to
cocktail-to-go service, Uber Eats
and other delivery apps quickly
found themselves delivering
alcohol, ‘albeit through
software that can verify age for those
consumers.
U B E R + D R I Z L Y
MAKING LIFE EASIER
“Wherever you want to go and whatever you
need to get, our goal at Uber is to make
people’s lives a little bit easier,” Uber CEO
Dara Khosrowshahi said via the release.
“That’s why we’ve been branching into new
categories like groceries, prescriptions and,
now, alcohol.” (Forbes).3
The concept of drinking has transformed
over the last year. More casual, more
frequent, more self-sufficient, more
convenient. Society learned through TikTok
and social media that the bartender down
the block at your favorite spot actually
didn’t have much on you! From
“Quarantini’s” to premixed cocktails to
booze delivered right to your doorstep.
This is a great opportunity for liquor stores
to create more revenue regulated the right
way. Drizly has helped stores set up web
pages while managing sales and delivery. It
can preserve local small businesses and
grow to serve more loyal customers via e-
commerce.
Liquor store owners will soon be faced with
the decision whether or not to enter the
realm of delivery services to stay profitable
and competitive with the large retailers.
Liquor stores can certainly expand their
reach and the size of the basket in addition
to reduce risk on underage deliveries as
Drizly has a strict signing policy.
In order to prepare for this industry
transition, it’s important to weigh the pros
and cons of signing into a partnership with
Uber/Drizly. This model will be launched in
major cities first where it will be important
to keep a close eye on the data and
analytics regarding inventory cost,
percentage taken by the service, and
revenue accumulated.
With Drizly’s help, this seems like a perfect
way to bridge the gap between the old and
new generation of legal liquor drinkers, as
e-commerce opens a new window of
opportunity for small businesses.
A platform filling a niche that
other apps hadn’t previously,
BOOMS during the Coronavirus.
Drizly is an alcohol e-commerce
platform that facilitates the
delivery of alcohol. Referred to
by some as the "Amazon for
liquor," Drizly lets users order a
variety of beer, wine, and spirits
directly from local retailers to
their location through a mobile
app or website.
“It takes the 21st Amendment into the 21st century."
(Michael Bilello, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of
America).4
AMAZON FOR LIQUOR
temporary regulatory changes.
Along the way Uber bought
Postmates, further cementing its
push into delivering things other
than people.’ CNBC2
Things came to a head for the
two apps as Drizly continued
nearly monopolizing the delivery
liquor market, and Uber dug their
nails in to keep the #2 spot
(after DoorDash) as a food
delivery platform, while their
travellers continuously dwindled.
Uber acquired Drizly for $1.1
billion. 90% stock and 10% cash.
Uber’s stock was up more than
9% the next morning.
Uber loved that Drizly was
already compliant with local
regulations in 1,400 U.S. cities.
The company said it would
eventually integrate Drizly’s
marketplace into the Uber Eats
app.
Alcohol delivery hasn’t had this
window of opportunity in many
states for legal reasons. Drizly’s
app began bridging consumers
to local retailers
selling/delivering alcohol, and
then by equipping delivery
workers with iPhones to utilize a
THE ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 5
