With back-to-school season underway, DoorDash is upping its efforts to prevent people who are underage from ordering alcohol through the e-commerce provider’s platform.
DoorDash announced Thursday new safety measures it is undertaking in Massachusetts — a state with a high concentration of college students.
These updates include blocking deliveries to college campuses and implementing bans on similar high-risk areas; requiring delivery workers to complete an alcohol compliance module on safe and responsible delivery in order to have the ability to make alcohol deliveries; and putting in place a revamped returns process that makes it easier for couriers to return alcohol if a delivery cannot be completed.
DoorDash also said it is working with an unnamed third-party vendor to improve scanning technology for identification cards as well as working with Massachusetts policymakers on ensuring its alcohol services meet safety standards.
“Simply put — if you are on a college campus, you will not be able to order alcohol for delivery on the DoorDash Marketplace platform,” DoorDash said in the announcement.
The company said it will continue to develop and roll out more safety features focused on responsible alcohol deliveries.
DoorDash first launched alcohol delivery in the state more than two years ago. It previously rolled out features like advanced two-step ID verification, safety and alcohol-specific compliance modules for workers, and a voluntary self-exclusion or opt-out register for consumers who don't want alcohol delivered.
In recent years, DoorDash has steadily rolled out alcohol delivery and pickup from its platform into new markets as rival Instacart, which launched alcohol delivery on its platform in 2013, does the same.
DoorDash’s inaugural report on alcohol online ordering trends, which was released in May, found that alcohol orders have grown more than 100% year-over-year for pickup and delivery on DoorDash from 2021 to 2022. Comfort, convenience and time-savings are top reasons fueling alcohol e-commerce sales, the report noted. In 2022, vodka and tequila were the most popular and fastest-growing alcoholic beverages that DoorDash users bought online for delivery, per the report.
