Liquor delivery:
Instacart, BevMo team up for service in Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler
BevMo and Instacart are the newest partners in home delivery of alcohol.
You’re throwing a party and realize well into the bash that you’ve underestimated the amount of booze you needed.
It’s a scenario that happens often with home entertaining, and it’s not always easy to remedy, especially if you’ve had a couple of drinks yourself. But now, alcohol delivery in less than an hour is a click away as part of a growing trend driven by consumer convenience and online shopping, particularly on smartphones and other mobile devices.
BevMo and Instacart are the newest partners in the alcohol-delivery market. Starting Thursday, March 17, customers in parts of Scottsdale, Tempe and Chandler can get alcohol from the liquor giant delivered to their door under a new partnership with Instacart, a grocery-delivery service. There’s a delivery fee, but the online and in-store prices are the same.
“We’ve received a tremendous amount of requests for BevMo! from our customers, and we are thrilled to be able to bring BevMo’s large assortment of beer, wine and spirits to customers in as little as one hour,” Sarah Mastrorocco, head of retail partnerships at Instacart, said in a written statement.
The company already offers alcohol delivery through BevMo competitor Total Wine & More and Valley stores like Bashas’ and Smart & Final. The BevMo partnership expands Instacart’s share of the alcohol-delivery pie.
How it works
Create an Instacart account on your computer or via the app, and browse the alcohol selection at your nearby BevMo. Enter your address on the Instacart website to verify if you’re in the delivery area (the delivery radius is not specified).
Currently, three BevMo locations are offering alcohol delivery:
» 7230 W. Ray Road, Chandler. » 15 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe. » 7129 E Shea Blvd., Scottsdale. The first delivery fee is waived with a $10 minimum purchase. The regular delivery fee is $5.99 on a minimum order of $35 or more. Customers must provide their date of birth during checkout, and a recipient at least 21 years old must be present and show ID upon delivery.
The move is in line with the exploding trend of more and more customers wanting on-demand delivery options, especially for food and beverage. The use of the internet, mobile apps and text messages to order food from a restaurant or other outlet grew by 18 percent last year and now makes up 1.9 billion food-service visits, according to the NPD Group, a market research company.
Other players
There are at least two other apps that already offer alcohol delivery in metro Phoenix, each partnering with local liquor stores.
» Pikfly, which launched in 2015, is a local company that offers alcohol delivery for a $7.95 fee within 10 miles of the store, and an additional 85 cents per mile beyond 10 miles.
» Minibar, which was created in 2013 and launched in metro Phoenix in early 2016, featuring a $5 delivery fee and $25 minimum order.
Safeway also delivers alcohol as well as a number of local liquor stores, including Arcadia Premium in Phoenix and Liquor Vault in Scottsdale.
Details: instacart.com/bevmo. at comics .azcentral.com