Does Instacart serve alcohol? (Yes, but…)
Instacart is an American grocery delivery company. With a multi-billion dollar valuation as of early 2021, Instacart has become one of the foremost grocery and other essentials delivery companies in the United States.
Instacart was founded in 2012 by University of Waterloo engineering graduate, entrepreneur and serial founder Apoorva Mehta. In just 10 years since its inception, Instacart now has over 10 million customers using its services.
The online grocery delivery company currently has more than 40,000 stores in more than 5,500 cities in the US and Canada.
Does Instacart serve alcohol?
Yes, Instacart does serve alcoholic beverages to customers. Instacart launched its liquor delivery service in 2013, just about a year after the grocery delivery company launched in 2012. However, this service is currently only available in 14 states in the US and Canada.
Instacart delivery is also only available at select retail stores in both countries.
Not all grocery stores in the Instacart portfolio offer this alcohol delivery service. In fact, to find out if there’s a retail store in your area that can ship alcohol through Instacart, you have to log into your app, or if you’re using the web version, log into your app, and enter your zip code.
Then, if Instacart ships alcohol through that retail store somewhere near your location, you’ll be notified.
Currently, there are approximately 500 retail stores in the United States, spread across 14 states, from which you can order alcohol for delivery and pickup. You can use your Instacart mobile app or the Instacart website to check availability at any of these 500 stores in your area.
However, for alcohol delivery, the customer must be at least 21 years old, as anyone under the age of 21 is not eligible to buy or drink alcohol in the United States. Any US customer ordering alcohol from Instacart must also be able to provide a government-issued ID to determine their age.
This rule also applies to Instacart deliveries in Canada. Canadian customers ordering alcoholic beverages in Canada must be at least 18 years old and must be able to provide government-issued ID to confirm their age.
Can you order wine from Instacart?
Yes, you can order wine from Instacart. However, just like alcohol, the wine delivery option on Instacart is currently only available in 14 states in the United States of America and a few territories in Canada. Instacart’s wine delivery option is not yet widely available in all 50 US states.
To check if your location is currently available for Instacart wine delivery, you must log in to your app, or if you’re using the web version, log in to your app and enter your zip code. You will be notified if Instacart is shipping wine through that retailer somewhere in your area.
Also, like Insacart’s alcohol delivery, customers must be at least 21 years old, as anyone under the age of 21 is not eligible to buy or drink alcohol in the United States.
Any US customer ordering wine from Instacart must also be able to provide a government-issued ID to determine their age.
This rule also applies to Instacart deliveries in Canada.
Canadian customers ordering wine in Canada must be 18 years of age or older and must be able to provide government-issued ID to confirm their age.
Does Instacart serve alcohol from Costco?
Yes! Instacart does deliver wine, alcohol and other spirits from Costco to customers who initiate or pick up purchase orders. Costco is one of the largest alcohol retailers in the world, so many people tend to order alcohol from its stores.
Instacart delivery from Costco retail stores is currently only available at over 200 Costco stores in 11 US states. Customers will also need to provide a valid government-issued ID to determine their age prior to delivery.
For Costco delivery, Instacart offers same-day delivery, and you can also have your drinks delivered in an hour or less. States where Costco offers Instacart services include Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio, and Washington, D.C., and There are plans to expand to other states in the near future.
Does Instacart check IDs?
Instacart checks IDs when delivering alcohol.
As previously mentioned, Instacart recognizes and takes seriously the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA). The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (Title 23 USC §158) made 21 the legal drinking age in the United States.
As such, a government-issued ID with date of birth must be provided prior to delivery for delivery, as per the stated legal drinking age. This is to ensure that alcohol is not handed over to minors or minors who claim to be 21 or older just to get it.
The legal drinking age is 18 for Instacart customers in Canada, and 19 in some other provinces. Just like in the U.S., a government-issued ID, which clearly shows the date of birth, must be presented, and the wine ordered is handed over by an Instacart delivery man.
Does Instacart serve alcohol in all 50 states?
No, Instacart does not serve alcoholic beverages in all 50 states. Instacart alcohol delivery options are not yet available in all 50 states that make up the United States, although there are plans to continue expanding until they can cover all 50 states.
Currently, alcohol delivery options are only available in 14 US states. This is partly due to the different local legislation in the delivery of alcohol in different states in the United States. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, most U.S. states completely banned the private delivery of alcohol to residents within their territories.
However, in the wake of Covid, most states eased their bans on alcohol deliveries to limit the spread of the virus. As a result, Instacart’s expansion into your state may be closer than you expect.
The 14 states that currently offer Instacart alcohol delivery options include California, Oregon, Texas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington state, and of course the capital of the United States – Washington, D.C.
So if you’re a resident of one of those states, or for whatever reason you’re in either state, and you need to have liquor delivered to your door, without the hassle of finding a bar yourself, you can just sit in it , and offer any brand of wine you need.
You can even order yourself from your favorite store and have an Instacart delivery guy pick it up for you and deliver it to you!
Want to learn more about Instacart? Check out our related post to find out if Instacart offers cigarettes, Can you work for Shipt and Instacart?
in conclusion…
Instacart remains America’s foremost grocery and other essentials delivery company, even though it was created only about 10 years ago.
It has grown exponentially in all 50 states in the US and Canada over the years. Further plans to expand to other countries around the world in the near future.
Instacart’s alcohol delivery option started in 2013, a year after Instacart was created. Although it currently only offers alcohol delivery options in 14 US states, it remains one of the most promising alcohol delivery companies in North America.
To check if Instacart’s alcohol delivery option is available in your state, check out the list of states where Instacart currently offers delivery to its customers.
For Instacart grocery and alcohol delivery, it partners with some other popular retailers in the US, including Costco, Publix, Kroger, Aldi, Whole Foods Market, Dollar Tree Sprouts Farmers Market, and more.
Instacart’s partnership with these companies enables it to more efficiently deliver grocery and alcohol delivery services to customers.
Currently, Instacart has more than 500 million products in 40,000 stores in more than 5,500 cities in the United States and Canada.
So you can rest assured that there is an Instacart location around you that can help you get the groceries you want from your favorite grocery store delivered to your door.
