With college students back on campus, DoorDash is clamping down on underage alcohol orders, releasing increased preventative safety measures.
For now, the initiative has kicked off solely in Massachusetts—a state with the highest concentration of college students nationwide.
Updates to safety protocol include blocking deliveries to college campuses and similar high-risk areas, and requiring delivery drivers to complete further alcohol compliance modules on safe and responsible deliveries.
“Simply put—if you are on a college campus, you will not be able to order alcohol for delivery on the DoorDash Marketplace platform,” DoorDash said in the announcement.
What’s more, it is now easier for drivers to return alcohol products if a delivery cannot be completed.
To prevent underage alcohol delivery, DoorDash is updating its scanning technology for identification cards.
DoorDash also said it’s working with an unnamed third-party vendor to improve its scanning technology for identification cards, stating that in many cases, the company will be “going above what is used for a typical in-store transaction” as well as working with Massachusetts policymakers to make sure alcohol services meet safety standards.
“We know that some underage people may try to use fraudulent IDs for purchasing alcohol, and we’ve seen an increased need for action across Massachusetts,” the e-commerce platform wrote in a statement.
The delivery company also said it will continue to develop and roll out more safety features on responsible alcohol deliveries.
DoorDash launched alcohol delivery in the state over two years ago. It previously required a two-step ID verification, safety and alcohol compliance modules for workers and a voluntary opt-out register for consumers who do not want alcohol delivered.
Despite the move towards stricter guidelines, alcohol delivery demand is expected to grow across the U.S. According to DoorDash’s latest inaugural report on alcohol ordering trends, orders have grown more than 100 percent year-over-year for pickup and delivery on the marketplace from 2021 to 2022. The company cites comfort, convenience and time-savings as top reasons for use of the service.
