Rapid delivery services like Deliveroo, Tesco Whoosh and Uber Eats sell themselves on frictionless convenience.
But when alcohol can be ordered at any hour, delivered in minutes and left at the door with minimal checks, that convenience is proving to be a curse. For people struggling with alcohol dependence, on‑demand delivery is not a blessing, but instead can send them into a dangerous downward spiral.
Hattie, a 35-year-old based in Clapham, spent more than 15 years battling with alcohol, with her issues continuing to escalate following the birth of her first child. Having first used the delivery apps after running out of booze at a party, the ease with which alcohol was delivered sent her down “a real slippery slope”.
“The availability and ease they provided, negating the need to leave the house or endure a ‘face to face’ interaction in a shop, not only increased the volume, but also the frequency, of my alcohol intake,” she says. “It makes it so easy for drinking issues to go underground, unnoticed and worsen.”
The rise of on-demand doorstep deliveries has prompted alcohol harm campaign group Alcohol Change UK to launch a campaign calling for restrictions and safeguards on the services to better limit their harm.
Hattie has been alcohol-free since 2021. Not all are lucky enough to escape. Alex Hughes, who lost her sister Zoe to a battle with alcohol dependence, later uncovered that Zoe had been spending £1,500 per month on alcohol via delivery apps in the time leading up to her death.
“Having alcohol available 24/7 at the tap of a button played a huge role in my sister Zoe’s fast decline before we lost her, despite her attempts and our efforts to get her the support she needed,” she says. “Compared to shops or pubs, the safeguards and measures in place with deliveries are much weaker.”
The ‘delivery trap’
Physical stores provide some natural hurdles to problem drinkers. Shops broadly have limited opening hours. Staff are more likely to spot frequent booze purchases and intoxicated customers (Hughes notes her sister’s drink deliveries were often “just left at her door”). They require shoppers to at least dress and walk to them to access. As Hughes explains: “Zoe didn’t have to leave the house, get ready for the day or see and interact with anyone, and became more and more isolated as time went on.”
Alcohol Change UK is calling for several new measures to “end the delivery trap”: restricted hours of purchase, a lag period on large orders, more stringent intoxication checks by the couriers delivering the alcohol, and a self-exclusion system similar to those seen in gambling.
The group’s suggestion that booze sales should end at 10pm is a big ask. After all, 10pm is the exact time impromptu parties tend to run out of drink. Improved intoxication checks by couriers puts a lot on their shoulders, asking them to deal with the unpredictable reaction of a potentially drunk customer, late at night, and in an unfamiliar setting.
But a self-exclusion mechanic seems highly effective, sensible and straightforward enough to implement.
Take back control
The model could mimic GamStop, established in 2017 by trade body the Remote Gambling Association at the request of the Department for Media, Culture & Sport and the Gambling Commission. The registration process is quick and easy and those using it can choose how long to exclude themselves from gambling, from six months up to five years. At last count, some 530,000 UK residents have registered with GamStop – more than 1% of the adult population
It’s not perfect, but a 2024 survey found three out of four users no longer gamble online and nearly one in two no longer gamble at all. Further, 78% of users reported it had delivered the results that they were hoping for and 80% would recommend the service to others.
“Why can’t we have a similar option for alcohol?” asks Cheryl, an alcohol liaison nurse at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, who has backed the Alcohol Change UK campaign.
“Having a similar system for alcohol deliveries would allow vulnerable people, people in recovery, people with mental health challenges, or people simply trying to cut down, to take control of their environment,” she says. “Allowing individuals to block alcohol deliveries to their address will create a protective barrier against relapse and excessive consumption.”
With their technical nous and oceans of purchase data, it is something the aggregator apps could readily establish, with the support of government guidelines. And the mechanic wouldn’t run counter to the convenience of shoppers not using it.
As Cheryl puts it: “Just as we can opt out of marketing emails or gambling platforms, people should be empowered to opt out of alcohol delivery services.”
No comments yet