The ‘Amazon Of Liquor’ Partners with Big West Coast Booze Chain

Two growing empires, Drizly  and BevMo!, have teamed up on the West Coast. So now you can purchase and have serious beer delivered to you home without getting out of bed.

Here’s the deal…

Drizly is an alcohol E-commerce platform operating in over 100 markets across the United States and Canada that lets users order beer, wine, and spirits directly from local retailers via a mobile app or website and have it delivered to them, within an hour.

Nicknamed the ‘Amazon for Liquor,’ the company was founded by Nick Rellas, Justin Robinson, and Spencer Frazier, three Boston College graduates who realized that the alcohol business had barely changed its ways since Prohibition ended, and they harnessed technology to help bring it out of the dark ages.

Here’s how it works…

Drizly partners with local retailers to bring their inventory to customers. Users place their order through the Drizly app or website. And Drizly retail partners fulfill the order, process the transaction, and execute delivery.

Delivery generally takes 30–60 minutes but your hands shouldn’t start shaking before that…

Drizly does not take a cut of the orders, which is one reason why New York’s State Liquor Authority approved it to operate without a liquor license. Instead, Drizly charges its retail partners a monthly fee to use its order fulfillment software as well as its iPads and iPhones.

In each of its cities, Drizly partners with local retailers who pay a licensing fee to be able to use its website and apps. And its new alliance with West Coast BevMo!, a huge alcohol retail chain which operates 170 stores across California, Arizona and Washington, is a big deal for both companies.

In December the E-commerce platform secured around $34.5 million in investment according to Tech Crunch. 

And last month BevMo! upgraded its tech act, and working with shopping specialists, The Mars Agency, launched a trial of a voice-activated ‘smart-aisle’ AI assistant to ‘talk whiskey’ to its customers according to the Drinks Business.

What’s next for California…cocaine delivery?

Oh wait…there are already other organizations on the West Coast that have that franchise locked up…