There has been a steep rise in global online alcohol orders, which increased 40% to $17bn in 2020 and are projected to reach $40bn by 2024, according to the alcohol market research firm IWSR.
Diageo, whose brands including Guinness and Smirnoff vodka, reported a surge in online alcohol ordering when it released financial results on Thursday. Orders doubled in the UK and trebled in the US.
I'm sure there's a reason for that...something beginning with 'c', perhaps?
Overall alcohol sales have fallen due to the enforced closure of pubs, bars and restaurants, but sales at supermarkets and online have soared.
Bingo! But...if overall sales have fallen, so what?
Twelve of the world’s largest drinks brands will unveil the plans on Thursday, drawn up in partnership with UK retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, as well as the delivery specialist Uber Eats.
Under the agreement, staff who deliver food and drinks to the door will be trained in how to spot signs of intoxication and check ID if they suspect someone is underage.
They will be asked to refuse to deliver alcohol if need be, just as pub landlords are supposed to do if customers have had too much.
Which is fine for pubs and restaurants - their gaff, their rules, as Longrider is often wont to say.
But this isn't 'their gaff', is it? It's mine. And yours. Did you think you made the rules there?
The companies will train staff on how to prevent trouble and de-escalate conflict when customers take exception to being denied service.
No, call it what it is - being denied the thing you've paid to have delivered because some spotty youth or barely-verbal third worlder smells booze on your breath or you're stuck in the loo and you've asked your 14 year old to answer the door.
All to satisfy...well, who, exactly?
The tougher controls on online drinks ordering are being coordinated by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD)...
Aha! These folks.
Who - in addition to poking their nose into what you get up to in the privacy of your own home - have...other goals. And they aren't shy about them:
In addition, IARD members are determined to positively impact a broad range of Sustainable Development Goals, including improving environmental sustainability, contributing to economic growth, driving social responsibility and working with local communities.
Alcohol sales are just the start of this organisation's ambitions.
"projected to reach $40bn by 2024"
ReplyDeleteI'm betting that projection is based on this years coronavirus sales increasing at the same rate for the next four years, which won't happen
I'm also batting that figure will be used to demand a whole host of additional restrictions on alcohol, starting with minimum pricing