Getting alcohol delivery right: tools & tips

With the festive season in full swing, pubs, bars, and restaurants are looking for ways to bring in some extra holiday revenue to make up for this challenging year. And because alcohol makes up between 20 and 25% of a restaurant’s income, it’s crucial to find new ways of moving it - especially in times like these.

While alcohol delivery services are nothing new, they’re more important now than ever. To give you an example, in the UK, there’s been a 30 to 49% increase in online alcohol orders since the pandemic. And demand for alcoholic beverages is only expected to grow in the coming month... For who doesn’t like a good drink during the holiday season?

In this article, we’ll help you get alcohol delivery right with some tools and tips. We’ll discuss licensing, technologies you can use, packaging essentials, and ideas to promote your alcoholic beverages.

#1 Make sure you have the licenses you need

Before you begin delivering alcohol, you’ll want to make sure you’re in compliance with local laws. Check with local authorities which off-premises alcohol sales and consumption rules apply to you, and obtain any required licenses and signage. Better safe than sorry!

For selling alcoholic beverages via online delivery or for click-and-collect on premises, a business needs a license from their local council. UK restaurants, for instance, will need a premises license and a personal license - which most restaurants, pubs, and bars will already have. In the United States, most US jurisdictions divide licenses by on-premises consumption (bar and restaurant) and off-premises (bottle) sales.

When applying for these licenses to sell alcohol online or set up an alcohol delivery service in some countries, states, or provinces you must clearly outline to the relevant authorities the steps you will take to make sure your products don’t end up in the hands of anyone under the legal drinking age.

#2 Invest in technology for operational efficiency

There are different ways of implementing alcohol delivery, depending on the nature of your business.

In a year of sweeping market fluctuations, restaurateurs, publicans, and bar owners have had to embrace new technologies to adapt to shifting customer habits. Having advanced and efficient technology at your fingertips can drive your business forward.

If you’re looking to set up an alcohol delivery service, you will need the tools to get it right.

Delivery or takeaway directly through your POS

Operators can avoid third-party fees from delivery platforms by taking alcohol orders for delivery or click-and-collect directly through Lightspeed Order Ahead. Not only does the platform save you money with commission-free ordering, but it also helps you adapt to your customers’ changing habits and meet them online.

It’s an efficient system that seamlessly integrates within existing workflows. Online orders are sent directly to the merchant’s Lightspeed Restaurant (L Series) point of sale, which means restaurants can manage orders without extra training on a new platform.

And because it’s seamlessly integrated, restaurants can make menu changes that update instantly, ensuring their online order menu is always accurate. 

Aggregate your third-party orders onto one tablet.

If you’re looking for a straightforward way to aggregate orders from different delivery platforms onto one iPad, try Lightspeed Delivery powered by Deliverect, whose platform lets you upload your drinks menu to third-party delivery apps, which will then direct orders made on different delivery platforms onto your POS.

In-house vs. third-party - which is better?

You may be asking yourself which of the above is the best option. Each has its pros and cons and will be right or wrong for your business depending on its capacity and individual needs.

The most significant advantage of third-party delivery platforms is the ability to quickly set up and outsource the entire delivery process with little or no upfront investment.

Although it’s a highly competitive environment, businesses also benefit from exposure to the platform’s audience of patrons. What a business gives up for access to that audience is a portion of its profit margin, which is already razor-thin for many pubs, bars, and restaurants.

Offering your alcohol delivery service presents a fundamental tradeoff between control over the delivery process in terms of speed, service, and quality and the fixed and variable costs of running it yourself.

Many customers prefer to cut out the middleman and order directly from businesses. But if you deal with a high volume of delivery orders, providing an in-house delivery service means a significant upfront investment in staff and vehicles. It means operating a completely different type of business with more logistical considerations.

Operating your delivery service in a busy pub, bar, or restaurant can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. However, it gives you complete control over the customer experience, from when the order is placed to when it is delivered to the customer.

Why not try both?

While it’s a helpful exercise to list out the pros and cons of each model, the reality for many restaurant owners is some kind of hybrid model in which they offer their delivery service alongside using one or more ordering apps.

This might sound even more complicated, and there is a risk of it becoming a complete mess. But set up in the right way with the right tech stack, this model could give you the best of both worlds: the reach and capacity of the larger platforms at busier times and the ability to offer a personal touch to those who want to order directly.

#3 Use appropriate packaging

When delivering to customers, it’s essential to give them peace of mind that their alcoholic beverages are entirely safe to drink. The easiest way to do this, especially if offering something like pre-mixed cocktails, is to package their orders with tamper-evident labels.

If you’re delivering wine or beer by the bottle, ensure the glass is wrapped in protective material like bubble wrap. The last thing you want is for a courier to arrive at your customer’s door with a soaked delivery bag and a load of broken glass. This one’s a no-brainer.

Lastly, don’t forget to add some branding to your alcohol packaging. Even if the alcohol comes from a different brand, adding your insignia to the delivery bag or takeaway cup can make your brand memorable and keep you in customers' minds, increasing the chance of repeat business.

#4 Promote your alcohol

 Like any other product, any alcohol you put up for delivery will need some promotion. If your online customers aren’t excited about buying alcohol from you, they’ll look elsewhere.

Draw customers in with special package deals, like an After-work Special with finger food and drinks, a Weekend Brunch Deal with unique brunch cocktails, or a Holiday Special with mulled wine or eggnog. You could even create an online happy hour, setting discounts for drinks during the high-demand hours.

You could even collaborate with other local providers. The #supportyourlocals movement nowadays is enormous. Today's people tend to buy local, supporting their neighborhood businesses instead of multinationals or big chains. Mix things up and work with other companies in your area to create a hyper-local, limited-edition novelty drink. You could look into ingredients like organic honey, fruits or vegetables, or even flowers to spruce up your cocktails and other drinks.

Your obligations for promoting the responsible consumption of alcohol are stated under your alcohol licenses and apply online as much as they do on your physical premises. Consider this when deciding how best to promote your alcohol products.

Alcohol delivery is here to stay.

With delivery services booming in the era of COVID-19, online ordering and delivery of alcohol will likely continue to grow in popularity. That means this extra revenue stream is here to stay, so why not join the trend?