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Square Inc. continues to build out delivery services for its Square Online platform with the addition of liquor delivery. Merchants using Square Online that sell liquor can offer customers the option to purchase alcohol from the store’s Web site and have the order fulfilled through Square’s delivery partner DoorDash Inc. Square expects the new service will be especially appealing to restaurants bars, breweries, liquor, and convenience stores.
The new service is expected to open up what Square describes as a “lucrative” new revenue stream, especially for restaurants that transitioned a large portion of their business to curbside pickup and delivery when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. By partnering with DoorDash, merchants can avoid building a delivery fleet and hiring and training additional staff.
“We’ve been actively improving and investing in our on-demand delivery feature within Square Online,” a Square spokesperson says by email. “The addition of alcohol was a logical next step and frequently requested feature from our sellers.”
The barrier to offering the new service has been state and local laws regarding the delivery of alcohol. Those laws have begun to loosen in some states in the wake of the pandemic as a way to help soften the economic blow to restaurants and bars caused by the pandemic by allowing them to sell alcohol to go, according to restaurant point-of-sale system provider TouchBistro Inc.
Numerous states and the District of Columbia passed temporary laws allowing cocktails to-go during the pandemic, according to Forbes, while other states such as Iowa, Ohio, and Oklahoma have made alcohol delivery permanent, according to TouchBistro.
“Craft beer is really our business, so for us to be able to offer our core product commission-free for on-demand delivery is huge,” Dan Chapman, owner of A.W. Wander Craft Beer and Pizza, a restaurant in Manlius, N.Y., and a Square Online merchant, said in a prepared statement. “That said, there will always be times when customers would rather have a drink at home—we don’t want to miss out on that occasion. Adding a couple of beers to a food delivery is great for the customer and really meaningful to our bottom line.”
Square is encouraging all merchants to consult their retail permit and local laws to confirm whether off-premises delivery is permitted, and, if so, for what types of beverages and under what conditions.
Square’s alcohol delivery service is available in 16 states and the District of Columbia. “That said, we’re always looking to make additions as state alcohol restrictions evolve,” the Square spokesperson says.
