Uber’s booze delivery dreams have gone flat. The ride-hailing and delivery giant is shuttering Drizly, its alcohol delivery subsidiary, just three years after spending $1.1 billion to acquire the startup.
Drizly made headlines in 2021 when Uber snatched it up with hopes of becoming a one-stop shop for food, groceries, and adult beverages. But the service apparently failed to live up to expectations.
“We’ve decided to close the Drizly business and focus on our core Uber Eats strategy,” said Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s delivery boss, in a recent statement.
Launched in 2012, Drizly originally caught Uber’s eye by partnering with local liquor stores to deliver beer, wine and spirits in under 60 minutes. The speedy service proved popular during pandemic lockdowns. But after joining Uber, Drizly appears to have lost its fizz.
Uber integrated Drizly’s offerings into its Eats app, but maintained the Drizly brand as a separate service. Gore-Coty provided little detail on why Uber reversed course, beyond wanting to concentrate resources on Uber’s main food delivery business.
However, Drizly has been dogged by cybersecurity issues which may have factored into the decision. The company suffered a data breach in 2020 exposing 2.5 million customer records. Later investigations found Drizly was alerted about security risks in 2018 but failed to take action.
As Uber winds down Drizly, it stressed that customers can still order alcoholic drinks through the Uber Eats app. So while Drizly didn’t work out as hoped, Uber remains committed to delivering an ice cold beer to your doorstep alongside dinner. The company just no longer believes Drizly’s technology or team is necessary to make it happen.
