New Delhi: The country’s biggest e-commerce platforms—including Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, Grofers and Flipkart—are considering liquor home delivery in Delhi after the state government allowed them to do so, according to industry executives.
While the fine print needs to be examined, manufacturers and others are hopeful that the move will shore up a business hit hard by the pandemic and that other states will follow suit.
On Monday, the Delhi government announced that liquor home delivery will be allowed through mobile apps or websites under an amended excise rule. E-commerce sites are said to have begun evaluating the process to apply for licences, according to people aware of the matter.
Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato and Grofers declined to comment for this story.
The national capital is among the biggest markets for alcoholic beverages in the country.
“This move will catalyse liquor e-commerce in one of the biggest markets for alcobev in India, and will set the pace for other states,” said Rahul Singh, founder of The Beer Cafe, which owns about three dozen outlets across the country. “Like we witnessed in retail, travel and entertainment e-commerce, alcobev is the last bastion in making India completely digital.”
While some states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh did allow home delivery of liquor last year, it didn’t take off because of steep fees charged by aggregators Swiggy and Zomato and lack of clear guidelines. Others like Maharashtra and Kerala also allowed home delivery but with multiple localised restrictions. Executives said Delhi could be a game changer with its large consumer base and sizeable population of mid and high-income households.
“Enabling home delivery will help boost sales and demand in the region,” Simba Craft Beer chief executive Prabhtej Singh Bhatia said. “We hope that soon other states will also follow suit.”
Executives said the move could create jobs at various levels within the delivery system, streamline liquor sales, curb malpractices at the point of sale, reduce crowding at stores and decrease real-estate costs. Brands could create delivery infrastructure or tie up with existing ecommerce platforms without setting up an offline retail presence.
“Online alcohol delivery will also lead to higher demand from women who face stigma attached to drinking and unhealthy buying experiences at liquor shops,” said Yugantar Saxena, operations head of Delhi-based niche brewery Sinq Beverages, which sells Bad Monkey lager beer.
