Wegmans kicks off Instacart alcohol delivery in New Jersey

Wegmans Food Markets has begun online delivery of alcoholic beverage purchases through Instacart in New Jersey.

San Francisco-based Instacart said Thursday that the service enables customers to order beer, wine and spirits for delivery in as soon as an hour via the Instacart or Wegmans apps and websites from all Wegmans supermarkets and independently owned Wegmans Wine, Liquor & Beer locations in the state. Wegmans shoppers also can schedule alcohol orders in advance. For all orders, an Instacart personal shopper will pick and deliver the order within the customer’s chosen delivery time frame.

“We know our customers are busy, and the holidays are no exception,” Scott Payne, New Jersey director of wine, beer and spirits operations at Wegmans, said in a statement. “Our New Jersey customers have enjoyed the convenience of ordering beer, wine and spirits, along with the rest of their groceries, for curbside pickup, and we’re excited to add delivery as an option. With this additional service, we want to help our customers spend less time getting ready for the holidays and more time celebrating.”

Instacart noted that the partnership with Wegmans marks its debut of alcohol delivery in New Jersey. The grocery delivery giant said it recently received approval from the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to offer alcoholic beverage ordering online.

Alcohol delivery by Instacart began in 2013, and the company said it has put many alcohol safety and compliance measures in place since then. For example, its personal shoppers must complete a “robust” internal training program before they can deliver alcohol on the platform, according to the company. The training includes verifying valid and unexpired IDs, confirming the recipient of an alcohol order is over age 21 and verifying an ID matches the recipient of the alcohol. In addition, the curriculum emphasizes that alcohol shouldn’t be delivered to someone visibly intoxicated, and these beverage orders must never be left unattended.

“As the Garden State gears up for the holidays, Instacart is proud to unlock alcohol delivery in New Jersey for the first time ever,” stated Ryan Hamburger, vice president of retail partnerships at Instacart. “By partnering with Wegmans to bring alcohol delivery and pickup to the Instacart app in New Jersey, we’re able to deliver customers a seamless shopping experience that gives them access to Wegmans’ wide selection of alcohol, alongside prepared foods, fresh groceries and household essentials—all delivered from the store to their door in as fast as an hour.”

With the Wegmans launch in New Jersey, Instacart said it now enables alcohol delivery and pickup in 28 states and the District of Columbia. When customers place their alcoholic beverage orders with Wegmans, stores offering the service will show as available for customers within the delivery range.

Rochester, New York-based Wegmans first partnered with Instacart on same-day grocery delivery back in 2017. The service has since been expanded to include pickup, acceptance of EBT payments for SNAP online purchases, loyalty program integration, and alcohol delivery, among other features. Overall, Wegmans operates 110 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Delaware and the District of Columbia.