Pandemic outbreak has changed the way businesses run. More and more businesses are shifting from brick and mortar stores to online mode. And online liquor delivery stores are among these. The growth of apps like Drizly sets a perfect example for those who are still thinking to start with online alcohol delivery.

Do you know- the on-demand alcohol delivery industry is expected to reach $1,684 billion by 2025? As the world enters the ‘New Normal’, the alcohol industry is turning into a competitive market. Especially with the emergence of on-demand liquor delivery apps like Drizly, things are changing at a greater pace. A greater number of business owners and entrepreneurs are planning to invest in on demand liquor delivery apps. Let’s find out why?

Why take your alcohol delivery business online in the post pandemic world?

The compulsory closures and the fear for virus spread heavily reduced the pedestrian traffic to bars and pubs. It became very challenging for these businesses to sustain in such times. It was then that the on-demand liquor delivery apps like Drizly grabbed the eyeballs. Below are listed two major reasons to take your alcohol business online:

1. Loosening rules on alcohol delivery: In the various states of America, liquor authorities are loosening up their guidelines. These are now permitting bars and pubs for online alcohol delivery at the doorsteps of customers. The move is intended to lessen the effect of losses these businesses dealt with. Not just in the USA, even in Canada, bars and restaurants can sell liquor with food takeout and delivery orders.
2. Increasing user demand: As per a report by Nielsen Data, the sales of beverages having alcohol witnessed a spike of 55% in the USA last year. Customers are drinking a crazy amount of alcohol. According to CNBC, on-demand liquor delivery app Drizly recorded a 300% spike in their sales.

Hence, if launching your own liquor delivery app development solution has been in your to-do list, this is the right time. And if you look for inspiration- Drizly serves you ideally. Want to build a Drizly clone? In that case, you need to know all about this on-demand liquor delivery app. So, without any further delays, let’s get started.

What is Drizly?

It won’t be wrong to state Drizly as an Uber for alcohol. This on-demand platform connects local liquor stores to the customers. Established in Boston, it is one of the best online alcohol storage services, available since 2012. More than 1000 liquor shops in Canada and the USA are registered on the Drizly app. This app is loved by the customers as it offers an exclusive range of wine and tailored beverages at affordable pricing.

When it comes to funding, Drizly has gathered a lot in total in terms of investment. There have been several rounds of investment and this online alcohol delivery platform has collected over $85 Million.

How online liquor delivery apps work?

Before exploring the business model of Drizly, find out how on demand liquor delivery apps actually work:

Step1: The customer signs up on the liquor delivery app and searches for their favorite booze from the nearby stores.

Step 2: Customers can place an instant order or schedule delivery, as per their convenience.  It is a liquor store registered with a platform that ensures timely delivery of orders.

Step 3: The delivery agent is assigned a delivery and the customer is updated with appropriate ETAs at every step. Right from the pick up till the order reaches the destination, customers can track everything.

Step 4: Finally, when liquor delivery is completed, the agents can collect payment, digital delivery proof and even the customer’s feedback.

As far as Drizly is concerned, it majorly focuses on selling an exclusive range of alcohol in the most convenient and cost-effective way.

Understanding Drizly business model

Running on a unique business model – Drizly neither sells nor delivers alcohol. Yes, you read that right. Actually, it does not have any products. And they don’t even have a delivery fleet of own. This amazing app directs all the orders to its partner stores. And the stores are further responsible for fulfilling all the delivery orders, using their own inventory and delivery personnel. To further understand the Drizly business model, consider these two major segments.

1. Retail Stores Partnership: To have happy customers it is essential to have quality suppliers on board. For this, Drizly conducts a thorough check on each store before partnering with them. The check is based on a number of parameters like store’s product availability, prices, range, delivery team, and so on. Only after the initial check is completed, Drizly integrates with the POS systems of liquor retail stores. It is a powerful tech suite of Drizly that allows its partner stores to accept orders instantly and fulfill them. The platform has a strong customer base, massive brand recognition and expansive reach. It helps partner liquor stores to connect with new consumers and boost their sales.
2. Law Compliance: When it comes to online alcohol delivery, every state has a different set of rules and regulations. Having a clear understanding of the same, Drizly acts to be a smart player! It follows a strict age verification process to comply with the law governing the legal drinking age. The platform ensures that on-demand alcohol delivery to minors is not available. It is necessary for the consumer to confirm his/ her age via an online verification process before placing an order for alcohol. Moreover, the drivers are empowered with a unique ID verification mobile app. It allows them to scan the IDs of all customers at the time of delivery. If the verification doesn’t match, the drivers simply refuse the deliveries.

Next, you must be thinking how Drizly makes money, right?

What is Drizly revenue model?

When it comes to making money, Drizly’s main revenue source is earning through its liquor store partners. Charging a heavy monthly fee from its partner stores, it doesn’t ask for a margin from individual sales. As far as the fee is concerned, it ranges between $100 to $10,000, depending on various factors such as delivery value, area, affordability, etc.  Also, it is worth noticing that Drizly also charges a delivery fee of $5 from their customers. This amount is directly paid to the liquor stores.

The above stated revenue model may appear limited to those planning to build Drizly clone. Not to worry! Here are some more ways to make money from your on demand liquor delivery store. Some of the most popular monetization opportunities for alcohol delivery apps include:

1. Commissions: It is a simple and well-known monetization technique for any on-demand business. You can charge a specific amount of fee for every alcohol delivery order placed through your Drizly clone.
2. Featured/Sponsored Listing: Another popular method is to offer the top spots of the app to the liquor store willing to pay a specific amount. You will get a number of retailers to pay for these spots as brands appearing on the top have record maximum sales.
3. Ad Management: One more way to make more money from your on-demand alcohol delivery app is through advertising. Running ads for relevant products, you can charge a certain fee from the partners who want to profit from your customer base.

After exploring the business and revenue model of Drizly app, now it’s time to find out what it takes to build your alcohol delivery apps.

How to make your on demand liquor delivery solutions?

To launch and run an online alcohol delivery business, it is crucial to understand the list of features that make your apps like Drizly successful. The complete liquor delivery tech suite can be categorized into four components:

• Customer ordering app- It allows customers to place liquor orders, pay online and track deliveries.
• Delivery agent app- It empowers agents to accept delivery orders and complete the same efficiently.
• Supplier Panel- It facilitates liquor store owners to take orders, manage inventories, and grow their business.
• Admin Dashboard- It acts as a God’s eye view for the business owners, from where he can manage every aspect of his online alcohol delivery business.

Features for customer ordering app

• Easy login: Simply login process of your liquor delivery app allows customers to register and start with the ordering process.
• Advanced search filters: Enabling a smart filtering process facilitated customers to search for their desired liquor in a simple and efficient way. Let your users set any required filters, cut down on unnecessary listings and order their favorite drink seamlessly.
• Multiple payment methods: Being one of the important features, this lets your users make payments through the various modes. Especially, in such times when COD is not a safe option, enabling multiple payment gateways is beneficial.
• Real-time tracking: With the feature, let your customer’s track their liquor delivery orders in real-time. They can check the ETAs at every stage of delivery.
• Ratings & review: Building a strong feedback system, allowing customers to rate their alcohol delivery experiences. They can share honest feedback and help other customers make a better choice.

Features for delivery agent app

• Seamless onboarding: Give your agents an easy way to get on board and start with their delivery services.
• Availability management: Provide your delivery agents with complete freedom to accept or reject the delivery request. They can set their availability as per their convenience.
• Order status update: Let your agents update the order status from pick up to successful delivery from their dedicated app.
• Deliver proof: On the successful delivery, allow delivery agents to collect the proof in form of digital signatures, feedback, and more.
• Optimized routes: Provide your delivery agents with shortest routes to enable faster deliveries. Add more with turn-by-turn navigation integrated with their app.

Features for supplier panel

• Alerts & notifications: Provider suppliers with instant alerts and notifications every time an order is placed with them.
• Manage products: Let the store owners registered with your alcohol delivery app add, edit and delete products. Allow them to set the prices, categories, subcategories and more.
• Order tracking: The suppliers can easily track the delivery agent to know their location and confirm if the orders were delivered safely.
• Advanced analytics & reporting: Suppliers can leverage from complete business reports and detailed analytics to know their store performance.  

Features for admin dashboard

• Manage suppliers: Business admin can benefit from advanced supplier management. You can check, add, edit and delete any number of liquor stores simultaneously.
• Manage customers: It becomes super easy to manage all the customers on your alcohol delivery app. Approve profiles, check verification ids, and more from a single panel.
• Manage delivery agents: Similar to customers, business admin can manage the entire alcohol delivery fleet with a live location tracking feature.
• Manage discounts & promotions: Admin can add, edit and delete any number of discounts, promo codes, etc. to attract and retain more customers.
• Manage business: With help of advanced analytics and reports, business admin can make better decisions for their online liquor delivery business.

While these were some basic features, you can always scale your business with more, advanced features. For this, make sure you hire a trusted and reputed alcohol delivery app development company.  

On demand liquor delivery is a promising and rewarding business sector. It is meant to flourish in the coming years. Hence, there is no point delaying your idea to launch your app like Drizly. Would you like to have some experts by your side? What about having a free consultation before you take your alcohol delivery business online? It has never been easier.

Get in touch with experts right here!