Liquor Delivery Business: What are the Pros and Cons of Alcohol Delivery?

Since the restaurants introduced delivery-only services, the majority of them took a hit on their revenue just because of the alcohol delivery services. This is why many cities and states repealed liquor laws to help alcohol businesses achieve their desired number of sales. Later, alcohol businesses recorded a growth in revenue of alcohol beverages between 2008 to 2021 across the US, as per Statista’s survey. 

So, many US states and cities have started allowing alcohol delivery from restaurants. At the same time, several US states like Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Utah have strict laws for performing alcohol delivery. As alcohol deliveries are widely used by Americans, how many of them are really satisfied with the alcohol deliveries?  

Well, here, we will try to find answers in this blog by referring to the pros and cons of alcohol delivery. So, let’s dive deep into this topic.

Why Do Most People Order Online Alcohol delivery? 

As of now, there are many options for online users to place an order for alcoholic beverages. Consumers can confirm the alcohol order without leaving their comfort zones. And therefore, more and more consumers are opting for the online delivery of their favorite drinks. In this process, they can even find rare wines that might not be available in the local liquor stores. 

Moreover, the user can gift alcoholic beverages to their family or acquaintance via an online alcohol delivery process. By ordering online, you get more varieties in comparison to the local businesses that provide pick-ups only. Also, you can find your favorite beverages at competitive prices along with less delivery fees. 

Thus, because of the steady hike in online delivery demand, alcohol delivery businesses are flourishing. And therefore, there is no dependency on traveling miles in search of your favorite bottle of whiskey. The online process is secure and only takes a few clicks of your finger rather than visiting the alcohol store. The best part is that you can even track your drivers throughout the delivery process or receive updates via text or email notifications as well.

However, there are upsides and downsides of the alcohol delivery services that may restrict you from purchasing a bottle of wine or whisky from online or offline stores. 

Alright then, let’s talk about what are the pros and cons of alcohol delivery service.

Pros and Cons of Alcohol Delivery

If you are planning to start an alcohol delivery business or already running one, here are some pros and cons that are worth reading.

Pros of Alcohol Delivery: 

1. Higher customer retention rate

One of the biggest pros of performing alcohol delivery is that you get more customers in a short time. Also, there are high chances that your customer base may turn into repeated buyers. This will boost your retention rate and your business may flourish. This means won’t need any business strategy to lure potential clients. This may help you to stabilize your business for the long term and it would be easier for you to achieve your desired business growth.

2. Balanced workload

Once you are off the mark, starting an alcohol delivery can be switched to the automated process. This would divide the tasks among the delivery drivers and you won’t have to worry about the entire delivery process. Business owners get extra freedom to work on multiple projects and can analyze the performance of their delivery team as well. In other words, your on-field employees will have no stress and they can achieve their target before the deadline.

3. Potential income growth

Stepping a foot into the alcohol delivery business means you won’t have to struggle as far as your income is concerned. You are likely to have less equipment while dealing with multiple orders. You may even need fewer resources to hand over bottles to the buyer. Since industry experts predict a hike in the alcohol delivery, you are likely to see a rise in your income gradually. Hence, you can achieve higher income as liquor delivery service might not affect your financial plan.

4. Reduced startup costs

If you are coming up with the new alcohol delivery business as an entrepreneur, you might need less money. Unlike other delivery services, liquor delivery can be performed with less hassles. You can offer multiple varieties of alcoholic beverages and put on promotional discounts. In the delivery process, you can carry out your assignments with less equipment. So, you don’t have to bother about your equipment costs. Thus, it won’t be difficult to explore your new plan while setting up a new alcohol business. 

5. Adoption of a simple business model

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you won’t require a complex method to launch your new liquor delivery service. This is because it requires a simple business model that helps you establish your business with the desired start. With the adoption of a simple business model, you might not need to stretch your financial budget. Such a simpler process can assist you in expanding your delivery network as well. 

Cons of Alcohol Delivery: 

1. Extended sales process

With the increasing list of online purchased orders, you need to make extra effort to achieve your targets. Or else, you might miss the deadline and leave the customer disappointed. You may need a marketing team to promote your business 24/7 across online and offline platforms. In some rural areas, it might take more than usual to achieve the desired number of sales. This might be due to the lower delivery frequency, which may harm your business productivity. Hence, while serving existing clients, you should also keep a tab on the sales process. As a business owner, you may demand round-the-clock service from your delivery team.

2. More phone calls

Whenever the customers fail to receive the orders on time, they are likely to get in touch with your customer support team. This means that you have to answer more phone calls in order to update your clients. Alcohol delivery demands are higher in urban areas where you may take longer routes to complete your deliveries. This would be frustrating for your clients who may not wait longer. 

3. Work inconsistency

In the alcohol delivery business, there are always higher chances of work inconsistency as you need to deal with a lengthy delivery process. The reason could be the work assignments provided to the dispatcher and drivers. If you don’t have drivers available to hand over the alcoholic beverages, your delivery process is likely to get extended. Such inconsistency may dent your source of income. 

4. Unfulfilled time commitment

During the alcohol delivery process, the major concern is time fulfillment. Business owners are likely to miss the deadline due to driver shortages or going out of stock. It means you may not stick to your commitment and, ultimately, fail to deliver customer satisfaction. Since the delivery process requires proper time management, your delivery team also needs extra effort in order to achieve time-sensitive deliveries. 

5. Safety concerns

Running the alcohol delivery service also needs to be performed while ensuring all safety norms are fulfilled. It may remain a real cause of concern whenever you are into alcohol delivery services. You need to look after your drivers and dispatchers whether they are following the safety protocols or not. Also, you may need a timely inspection of your equipment while serving alcoholic beverages. 

Get Upper and Wrap Up Your Delivery Schedule Early

Delivering alcoholic beverages becomes easy when you have the right delivery route planner. Route optimization software like Upper can help you create delivery schedules in advance. It will remind you at the time of your delivery and assist drivers in reaching the destination with the help of the fastest routes.

Route planner makes the dispatcher’s job easy and aids the entire team in performing timely deliveries. It churns out the best routes considering the on-road factors like weather, traffic and avoidance zones so that your drivers spend less time on the road. Upper aims to improve the alcohol delivery process with its sophisticated algorithm and reduce unnecessary costs.  

The good thing is that you can even track the live location of drivers on Upper and keep the customers posted throughout the delivery process.

Key Takeaways

It is truly said that starting a liquor delivery business may require a smaller amount in the initial phase. But, you may require great efforts once you have increased the number of repeat buyers. We understood the upsides and downsides of performing alcohol delivery by referring to its major pros and cons. 

This would prove to be worthy once you get off the mark in your new venture. In terms of delivery, you can take advantage of the Upper route planner and facilitate your alcohol business. Book a demo with us to learn how Upper plays a vital role in alcohol delivery.