A new iPhone and Android app has made its debut in Denver. With the tagline, ‘we bring the liquor store to you,’ Drizly delivers beer (or any other spirit) right to your door with a few clicks of a button. Will Denver embrace the new app like they have Uber?
Ron Vaughn, owner of Denver’s Argonaut Wine and liquor thinks it will. His liquor store is the first in the city to try out the app. For him, experimenting with Drizly makes good business sense.
“For us we think it’s going to bring in consumers who maybe don’t stop at the store now, or just want to look at this as a different way of shopping,” Vaugh said.
Users of Drizly decide what type of alcohol they want and provide their location, age, and driver’s license. From there the app contacts Argonaut which gathers your favorite drinks. After confirming ID, the liquor is on its way to your door.
Nick Rellas, Drizly CEO, said users will most likely spend much more using the app, than without it.
“On average, the average Drizly transaction will make [the liquor store] close to five times more profit than the average in-store transaction,” Rellas said.
He said retailers are seeing a 15 to 30 percent lift in sales incrementally since adding the app which has launched in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Since Drizly never touches the alcohol, nor physically delivers it, Rellas said his company has little fear of regulatory issues.
“You know, this is alcohol, this is highly regulated and people feel quite strongly on either side. So we actually use an incredible amount of transparency to all these regulators and say, here’s what we do,” he said. “We know the laws, we want to work with you to bring mobile and e-commerce into this industry as well as delivery, but let’s make sure we’re doing it right.”
While the app only covers a few neighborhoods across Denver, including Lower Downtown and Cherry Creek, Argonaut owner Ron Vaughn says it opens a whole new area of business to him.
“I really think it’s going to go, if I need more drivers I’ll hire more drivers and I’ll buy more vans,” Vaughn said. “That’s the upside for me. I hope that happens.”
Vaughn said delivery takes between 20 and 40 minutes, and there’s a $20 minimum. But with our love affair with craft beer and spirits, hitting that price point might not be that hard.
