Sam’s Club to offer alcohol delivery through Instacart, Arkansas excluded
by June 24, 2019 5:16 pm 2,102 views
Sam’s Club announced a new service it’s calling “Instacart Cheers” that will allow members in 11 states to purchase wine and spirits online from 215 Sam’s Club locations. Arkansas is not among the states with the service because state law prohibits alcohol delivery to residents through third-party services.
The Alcohol Beverage Commission of Arkansas (ABC) told Talk Business & Politics the only exception would be if a person visits a winery they can order wine and have it shipped to their homes. ABC officials said for Arkansas to change the law it would require legislative action and governor approval.
For Sam’s Club members in states like Missouri, Florida or California the new service is available. The retailer said members who use Instacart for online delivery can add products like Member’s Mark Sangria, Member’s Mark Prosecco or other products like Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, Modelo Especial and Tito’s Handmade Vodka to their shopping cart. Orders can be delivered in as little as one hour.
“Sam’s Club is focused on offering quality products, unexpected finds and better customer experiences,” said Racquel Harris, vice president of adult beverage. “Now you can select the perfect bottle of wine to complement your dinner or stock up on your favorite beer or spirits for the big game with the convenience of delivery.”
Harris said alcohol delivery is expected to be expanded to additional Sam’s Club locations in the coming months. As Sam’s Club and Instacart provide alcohol delivery in select states, the companies have also expanded their same-day online delivery collaboration of grocery delivery to include all U.S. Sam’s Club locations. The expansion allows anyone in the U.S. to shop from their local Sam’s Club via Instacart.
“Instacart is proud to collaborate with Sam’s Club to provide wine, beer, and spirits delivery for their valued members. By extending our marketplace categories, we’re making it even easier for customers to shop from Sam’s Club for all their needs – from groceries and household essentials to alcohol,” said Andrew Nodes, vice president of retail at Instacart.
Sam’s Club said to purchase alcohol through Instacart, members must be 21 years of age or older and are required to enter their date of birth at checkout and present a valid government ID at the time of delivery. Other than that, the order process for alcohol and spirits works similar to adding groceries or general merchandise to the virtual cart.
Online orders at Sam’s Club were up more than 30% in the recent quarter. Sam’s Club grocery executive Clint Gil recently spoke to suppliers in Bentonville about the company’s grocery business. He said grocery is a $15 billion business at Sam’s Club, and 5% of sales are online, with 4% being club pickup and 1% direct to home. Gill said Instacart was helping Sam’s Club figure out what a direct-to-home model might be, noting that it has to be sustainable.