Today, we’re excited to announce that Maryland consumers will soon be able to find their favorite alcohol products from local merchants on the DoorDash platform and have them safely delivered to their homes.
Under a new law taking effect July 1, Maryland counties can allow consumers to order alcoholic beverages from local merchants for safe and responsible delivery by third-party platforms like DoorDash. Consumers in eligible counties will have the option to toggle to the Alcohol tab of the DoorDash App to browse and safely order from a wide selection of merchants and their beverages.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing alcohol delivery to Maryland, providing even more consumers with a convenient, responsible way to enjoy their favorite drinks at home,” said Erik Ragotte, DoorDash’s General Manager of Alcohol and Convenience. “Whether it’s locally brewed craft beers or bottles of beloved wines, we hope that this new offering can showcase the best that Maryland has to offer. We remain committed to supporting local merchants and creating new earning opportunities for Dashers while ensuring the highest standards of safety with our best-in-class alcohol delivery protocols.”
We continue to see strong and sustained demand from consumers for alcohol delivery, creating opportunities for merchants to grow online. According to our 2024 Alcohol Ordering Trends report, nearly nine out of 10 surveyed consumers report using on-demand alcohol delivery the same or more than the previous year.
We believe that bringing alcohol delivery to Maryland will empower local economies and unlock new opportunities for business owners. It can offer Maryland merchants new ways to grow their business, give Dashers new opportunities to earn, and connect consumers with the best products available.
Since launching alcohol delivery in 2021, demand for this service has continued to grow year over year, and DoorDash is now the US category share leader for third-party liquor store delivery sales*. Today, consumers can find over 100,000 alcoholic beverages across thousands of stores in 33 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, on DoorDash.
Safety Comes First For consumers in Maryland and nationwide, our priority is to deliver alcohol in a safe and responsible manner. That’s why we’ve put in place a robust array of industry-leading safety features:
State-of-the-Art ID Verification: Central to our efforts to help ensure safe alcohol delivery is our state-of-the-art ID verification process, which requires that IDs are always scanned and verified at the point of delivery — in many cases going above what is used for a typical in-store transaction. Only after verifying the consumer’s age and checking for any signs of intoxication may the delivery be completed.
Dasher Compliance Modules: Dashers in Maryland interested in accepting offers including alcohol are only eligible for such offers upon completing a module on safe and responsible delivery, and we will provide detailed guidelines to those Dashers on how to safely and compliantly deliver alcohol.
Self-Exclusion Registry: We know that some consumers still don’t want alcohol delivered. That’s why we also have a voluntary self-exclusion list so consumers can easily stop seeing alcohol via our Marketplace platform.
Return Flow: If a delivery cannot be completed, Dashers are provided with step-by-step prompts to return the alcohol to the store. Dashers will be paid for the whole trip, including the original pay plus more for the return. Dashers will never have to choose between completing a delivery and complying with the law.
We also recently committed to Responsibility.org’s Core Four principles of responsible alcohol delivery to exhibit our dedication to the safety of customers and rule compliance.
We will continue to work closely with the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission to ensure that alcohol delivery can be done safely and Maryland consumers can enjoy this new offering responsibly.
