Dive Brief:

• Starting Wednesday, DoorDash drivers will be required to scan the front of a customer’s identification card with the DoorDash app to verify their identity and age prior to handing off an alcohol delivery order, the company said in an email to Restaurant Dive. Drivers will also be required to check for any signs of intoxication prior to completing the order.
• Customers will receive reminders about the requirement to show their IDs at the door when the delivery is underway. 
• The enhanced delivery feature, which was piloted in Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, Seattle and Northern Virginia, comes about ten months after DoorDash expanded alcohol delivery into 20 states and Washington, D.C. 

Dive Insight:

With the expansion of to-go alcohol across multiple states, alcohol enforcement agencies have noted an erosion of compliance with liquor ID laws stemming from alcohol delivery. Virginia agents last year, for example, conducted at least 52 decoy operations in which they ordered alcohol to be delivered to underage buyers. During that exercise, 32 underage buyers ended up with alcohol. 

The new process builds on DoorDash’s existing safety features, which includes ID verification, offering customers the option to opt out from alcohol delivery and providing alcohol safety resources to its drivers, according to the press release. 

“With today’s announcement of two-step or dual ID verification, we’re setting a new industry standard for responsible alcohol delivery,” Erik Ragotte, DoorDash’s general manager of alcohol, said in the press release. “The new safety measures will help ensure alcohol is delivered to people over the age of 21. We will continue to innovate and find even more ways to promote responsible alcohol delivery.”

As of September 2021, DoorDash offered delivery of about 30,000 SKUs of alcohol, including to-go drinks from restaurants, grocery stores, retailers and convenience stores. The company said alcohol delivery can help boost average customer order values by an estimated 30% for grocers and restaurants and by over 50% for convenience stores. Dashers also earned almost 30% more on deliveries with alcohol than on non-alcohol deliveries in Q4 2021, according to the press release.

While DoorDash offers ID verification through its app, rival delivery providers have other safety protocols in place to ensure a safe delivery of alcohol. Grubhub only offers alcohol delivery in 10 markets, and drivers must be aged 21 or older in order to deliver alcohol. They are required to check a valid ID and confirm the customer’s age before handing off alcohol, as well as check for signs of intoxication. Drivers can have their accounts suspended if they deliver alcohol to minors or someone who is visibly intoxicated.