Swiggy & Zomato Start Home Delivery Of Alcohol

Swiggy on Thursday introduced a new ‘Wine Shops’ category in its app. It has started operations in Ranchi after obtaining approval from the Jharkhand government.

For ordering alcohol, the app has a mandatory age verification and user authentication along with a unique OTP for the delivery. Customers will have to upload a valid government ID to verify their age followed by a selfie for authentication.

Competitor Zomato is also all set to start liquor delivery operations in Ranchi on Thursday followed by seven other cities.

The company claims to be in advanced stages of discussions with multiple state governments to home deliver alcohol in many other cities by using their existing technology and logistic infrastructure.

Speaking about the introduction of the category, Vice President Products, Swiggy Anuj Rathi said, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, Swiggy has relentlessly worked to solve customer pain points and support local governments in every way possible. Taking advantage of our existing technology and infrastructure to enable hyperlocal deliveries, we have been working closely with the local authorities to support them with initiatives like expansion of grocery delivery and COVID-19 relief efforts. 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, thereby promoting social distancing.”

Earlier, the Supreme Court of India advised state governments to consider “home delivery” and “indirect sales” of liquor to avoid overcrowding at the liquor stores.