Swiggy starts home delivery of alcohol

Food delivery app Swiggy has started doorstep delivery of alcohol in Jharkhand on Thursday. Rival Zomato has said it plans to launch the service in the state on Friday.
The state government’s decision to permit liquor sale during the lockdown had led to long queues and overcrowding outside wine shops. Haryana and Odisha are also likely to allow home delivery of alcohol in the next few days.

“By enabling home delivery of alcohol in a safe and responsible manner, we can generate additional business for retail outlets while solving the problem of overcrowding,” Anuj Rathi, vice-president – products at Swiggy, said in a statement.

ET was the first to report on May 13 that Swiggy was in talks with several state governments for home delivery of alcohol from local licensed retailers.

“With due permissions and licenses in place, we are starting home delivery

of alcohol in Jharkhand,” a Zomato spokesperson said.

Swiggy said it has introduced measures such as mandatory age verification and user authentication to fulfil orders. Customers can complete an instant age verification by uploading a picture of their valid government ID, followed by a selfie.

Additionally, all orders will carry an OTP which the customer needs to provide at the time of delivery. This is being done to limit the quantity being ordered.



The company has partnered with retailers and has trained its delivery partners online for the service.

Alcohol delivery yields high average order value and increases retention, but is a hard category to launch given the concerns around underage drinking, driver-partner safety among others.