Columbus Business First reports that Amazon "is laying the groundwork to add alcohol delivery to its Prime Now service in Columbus and Cincinnati," having filed for permits "to sell carryout beer, wine and pre-packaged low-proof mixed drinks in Franklin and Hamilton counties, according to applications with the Ohio Department of Commerce. Carryout licenses allow delivery."
The move, according to the story, seems to be part of a broader alcohol-oriented strategy.
"Prime Now came to Columbus in May, with free two-hour delivery of groceries and consumer goods for Prime members and one-hour delivery for a fee ... Amazon's hometown of Seattle had alcohol as a product offering from the start, but beer and wine didn't roll out in other markets until Manhattan in December, and more cities over the summer.
"Now it's going next-level, with a deal to deliver to numbered parking spots for tailgaters at Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers."
The move, according to the story, seems to be part of a broader alcohol-oriented strategy.
"Prime Now came to Columbus in May, with free two-hour delivery of groceries and consumer goods for Prime members and one-hour delivery for a fee ... Amazon's hometown of Seattle had alcohol as a product offering from the start, but beer and wine didn't roll out in other markets until Manhattan in December, and more cities over the summer.
"Now it's going next-level, with a deal to deliver to numbered parking spots for tailgaters at Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers."
- KC's View:
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I got an email about this story already from MNB reader Chris Utz, who suggests that if this is permitted and done right, "Amazon could take business from a lot of family liquor stores and grocers. This service would most likely be very popular around college campuses."
He also points out that Amazon would have to have an extremely a strict ID policy ... which could be a problem. And the deal could depend on "how much clout the liquor lobby has with Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control."
But I think Chris is right that this has the potential of being a disruptive business model ... and I do think that the idea of delivering directly to tailgaters has a lot of appeal.
