The Beer Store has unveiled a new home delivery service as part of its efforts to keep up with consumers’ growing appetite for online shopping.
Starting today, residents in parts of Toronto and Ottawa can order beer directly to their doors as the chain launches the new pilot project.
“Beer Xpress is part of The Beer Store’s ongoing commitment to the province of Ontario to modernize and improve the customer experience within its retail network,” Beer Store District Manager Mario Di Paulo said at a news conference.
Di Paulo said the move is guided by market research that shows people increasingly want to tap their phones to order.
“Our market research shows us that consumers want easy and convenient shopping at their fingertips,” he said.
A year ago, The Beer Store launched an online shopping site, beerxpress.ca , which already allows people to pre-order beer for pickup at select stores.
According to the website, home delivery will be available for residents in an area that includes Scarborough, The Beach, the Upper Beaches and part of Danforth Village. The delivery area is bounded by Coxwell Avenue from Lake Ontario north to Danforth Avenue, Victoria Park Avenue from Danforth Avenue to the northern boundary at Highway 401, and Morningside Avenue from Lake Ontario north to Highway 401.
In Ottawa, a large swath of the city will be in the Beer Store’s delivery area, including the downtown core.
The base delivery fee has been set at $8 for Ottawa residents and $9.75 in Scarborough.
The Beer Store says orders will be delivered within two hours but wait times could be longer during high volume periods and during difficult driving conditions.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Beer Store President Ted Moroz called home delivery "a natural evolution" of the Beer Xpress program.
"We look forward to bringing it to Ottawa and Scarborough for the pilot," his statement read. "The areas were selected based on a number of criteria including market demand and the number of stores in their delivery footprint."
Di Paulo said The Beer Store will review the program in a few months to see where to take the program going forward.
“The market research will eventually tell us how we can expand the service,” he said.
