Are you thinking of starting an on-demand alcohol delivery business, but you are not sure whether it is a good idea or not?
In this article, we are going to dive into some of the biggest benefits of starting an on-demand alcohol delivery business, to help you gain more insight into the latest industry trends.
This article retains historical context from 2020. Those figures do not establish present demand, legal eligibility, or profitability for a new location. Evaluate the operating territory and cost of the service you actually plan to run.
Consumption trends since 2020
As we all know, the pandemic brought us a lot of new, unexpected consumer behavior. When it comes to alcohol, the general consumption increased by 2% in the US in 2020, which is the biggest year-over-year increase since 2002.
This increase in consumption created many opportunities for liquor shops, restaurants, and wine bars to generate revenue, despite the restrictions. According to the International Wine and Spirits Record, an industry research firm reports that in the U.S.,” 44% of consumers only started buying alcohol online in 2020, compared to 19% in 2019."
Customer data
An owned ordering website or app can support a direct customer relationship within the permissions and data rights that apply. Decide what customer information is necessary, how it is used, and which communications require a separate choice; online orders do not automatically grant unrestricted access to personal data.
Having access to this data can help with creating further promotional campaigns, selective advertising, and personalized offers based on previous purchases.
Test current local demand
Historical adoption of online buying is a reason to investigate a local opportunity, not evidence that demand increases continuously in every market. Test repeat purchases, eligible addresses, basket size, service hours, and contribution for the customers you can actually serve.
The linked IWSR report concerns alcohol e-commerce growth in 2020. It should not be read as a current forecast or used to project the sales of a new delivery business.
Opportunity for wine shops
Choose a wine, beer, or spirits assortment from your eligible catalog and observed customer demand. A historical industry sales mix does not determine what your location may sell or which items will contribute profit after delivery costs.
Having the option to order your favorite bottle online instead of making the trip to do it in-store, is definitely something that the customers would be willing to pay for, especially if the app features convenient payment methods and real-time delivery tracking.
Commissions
Having an on-demand delivery app locally gives a great opportunity to make a lot of revenue on commissions. Sellers who enjoy the great interest in their traditional stores, turn to hyperlocal delivery in order to maximize their potential sales and reach the clientele who wish to enjoy their product from the comfort of their home.
Memberships
Possessing a functional and seamless app for your alcohol delivery business makes a great opportunity to acquire new loyal customers. Implementation of direct purchase perks and membership discounts is easier to do online since customers do not need to physically be in-store in order to sign up.
Personal service and storytelling
Having an interactive delivery app helps with the branding of local stores, by establishing a sense of community online. For example, if you are planning to run a wine delivery business, you can talk about wine-related events and fairs in your area, record the process of preparation, and promote discounts related to the local holidays and celebrations.
If your content is specific to the location and nuances where your business operates, it will also attract more in-house guests.
Reaching out to greater customer scope
Online ordering can reach customers beyond walk-in traffic, but fulfillment remains limited by authorized territory, permitted hours and products, carrier acceptance, and the operation you can actually serve. Local delivery and carrier shipping are different services. A website does not itself authorize nationwide or interstate alcohol delivery.
The greater profit margin for restaurants
A beverage order can add revenue, but its margin depends on product cost, packaging, payment, preparation, delivery, promotions and incidents. Do not assume beverages always have the highest margin or that delivery preserves an in-store margin.
Evaluate an on-demand delivery operation against the exact catalog, territory and handoff process before treating additional sales as profitable.
Providing your customers with the option to purchase their favorite drink via a convenient app, offers an additional source of income and increases the loyal customer base. You can also offer a collection of points or discounts for future in-house visits.
Inventory management
Online order management tools allow a more accurate overview of your orders. This way, you can be sure to deliver the best quality of service and encourage your visitors to buy bigger quantities of products in one go, as opposed to a restaurant or a stationery shop.
Having a clear and transparent ordering management system makes it easy to keep track of your supply and demand and avoid over-spending on inventory.
Separate the consumer app, merchant channel, and carrier
A consumer app helps someone find and buy a drink. A merchant platform helps the business publish a catalog, receive orders, take payment through its chosen arrangement, and coordinate fulfillment. A marketplace recruits merchants and customers; a carrier transports the accepted order. One company may perform several roles, but the responsibilities should still be explicit.
Do not choose a platform by assuming a discontinued consumer app is a current merchant product. Drizly’s official farewell FAQ states that consumer operations ended on March 28, 2024, and points consumers toward Uber Eats. That does not establish identical merchant terms, coverage, or transfer of customer accounts and promotions. Compare any available marketplace option with an owned channel and a separately confirmed delivery arrangement, using the merchant channel guide.
Verify the merchant’s territory and the final handoff
For each proposed service area, have the authorized merchant verify permitted products, recipient eligibility, sale and delivery hours, geographic boundaries, and the carrier’s acceptance conditions. In the U.S., the TTB directory of alcohol authorities explains the role of state and local requirements and links the appropriate authorities. Use the equivalent competent authority for other markets.
Define who checks age and identity, when the check occurs, what evidence may be recorded, and what the driver does if the recipient cannot be verified, is absent, or must be refused. Agree return, refund, and incident ownership before dispatch. A checkbox at checkout or a normal delivery photo should not be treated as proof that the required handoff has happened.
Ordering.co’s general ordering and delivery features do not establish a merchant license, shipping permission, native age-verification workflow, interstate capability, or automatic compliance for this business. Validate the specific implementation and responsible parties without assuming universal support or universal absence.
Calculate the cost per order before expanding
Use: allocated platform cost + payment processing + preparation and packaging + delivery + incidents. Add product cost, customer acquisition and other overhead when estimating the contribution of the sale.
Illustrative example, not a quote: $1 platform allocation + $1 payment + $2 preparation + $6 delivery + $1 incident allowance gives $11 of operating cost per fulfilled order before the product and other costs. A $30 basket is not $19 profit: subtract product cost, any promotion, tax treatment and remaining expenses as applicable. Replace assumptions with your own evidence; a missing fee is not zero.
Start with a bounded permitted area and hours, then measure accepted orders, completed handoffs, refusals, refunds, contribution and repeat purchase. Expanding the website audience should follow verified fulfillment capacity and eligibility, not precede them.
Compare restaurant website builders for the merchant channel, separately from alcohol eligibility. For the technology layer, review Ordering Web for your owned channel and Ordering Delivery for delivery operations. Software configuration does not replace merchant permissions, a carrier agreement, or a demonstrated age-verification process.
Try the Ordering.co demos with an eligible order, an unavailable address, and a refused handoff before selecting the operating workflow.
TaDa: compare the beverage operation, not just the app
AB InBev's TaDa account of April 19, 2023 describes its beverage direct-to-consumer model, while its innovation overview distinguishes TaDa from Brazil's Zé Delivery and other DTC products. This is company context, not a current address-level coverage guarantee or a performance promise for a new builder.
TaDa's proposition combines beverage assortment, nearby fulfillment and an occasion-based customer journey. A new entrant needs to secure licensed supply, permitted service areas, stock, packaging, handling and delivery capacity as well as the ordering interface. Compare selection, final price, availability and reliability at representative addresses instead of assuming that cloning the screen reproduces the supply chain or the brand's economics.
Colombia: define eligibility and the refused handoff
For a Colombia evaluation, Law 124 in INVIMA's legal compilation prohibits selling alcoholic beverages to minors. The responsible merchant must determine applicable local permissions, age/identity checks, operating hours and delivery rules. TaDa Colombia's current help article, updated November 5, 2026, directs customers to the app's Legal → Terms and Conditions section; review those account and market terms rather than using a dated promotional offer as the general service contract.
Require the proposed operation to show who verifies the recipient, which evidence can be retained, what happens if verification fails or the recipient is absent, and who owns refusal, return, refund and support. A date-of-birth field, age checkbox, PIN or ordinary proof photo does not itself establish the legally required verification. Do not apply Colombia's rules unchanged to the US or another country.
Separate product economics from delivery economics
Model product margin plus customer charges, minus payment, picking, packaging, delivery, promotion funding, returnable-container handling where relevant, refused deliveries, refunds and variable support. Separate fixed overhead and acquisition. Compare repeat orders and completed eligible handoffs over the same period. Group-level DTC revenue is not TaDa-only profit, and a promotional basket is not a sustainable margin benchmark.
Ordering.co can support the general channel and delivery workflow; this does not establish native age verification, a merchant license or automatic alcohol compliance. Compare local-commerce models and discuss the eligible merchant workflow with the responsible operator before launch.