Dive Brief:
- Shipt will expand its online grocery service to North Carolina’s Research Triangle region through its partnership with Harris Teeter, according to the Shelby Report.
- Shipt members in the Raleigh and Durham areas will have access to beer and wine selections from the supermarket chain, as well as traditional groceries, starting April 20.
- To verify that customers are of proper age, members will need to scan their IDs through the app and be required to present the same ID to the Shipt shopper upon delivery.
Dive Insight:
Shipt is partnering with Harris Teeter, a unit of grocery giant Kroger, to allow beer and wine delivery to more than 1.5 million households in North Carolina, which analysts believe could be a big boon to business. Alcohol delivery is a growing industry, with Ibisworld estimating it will expand to $1.4 billion by 2020.
Naturally, the biggest hurdle in alcohol delivery are regulatory laws that are different in each state. Delivery services such as Shipt are going to have to be on the ball with ensuring they are not delivering to underage consumers as there are some problems that could occur if alcohol winds up in the wrong hands.
As consumers change the way they shop, it's a smart move for Harris Teeter to be more nimble and look more ways to adapt. Nielsen’s “The Future of Grocery” report predicts ordering online for pickup or delivery will grow substantially from 12% and 9% of U.S. consumers who tried these options in 2015 to 55% and 57%, respectively, by end of this year. It's also a wise move as Amazon makes inroads in the grocery sector. The web giant recently announced it has added beer and wine delivery through its Prime Now service to the Cincinnati and Columbus markets, after finding success with a pilot program in Seattle.
For brick-and-mortar stores who are worried, there’s plenty they can do when it comes to alchohol. In-store tastings and expanding growler pours, sampling events, and other extras that play up the experience of drinking is a great way to keep the all-important millennial crowds coming into the stores.