Direct sales by alcohol beverage suppliers does not increase minors access to alcohol
Abstract
Certain segments of the market have claimed for decades that direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipments of alcohol increases the risk of minors accessing alcohol.
New data, collected through direct-to-consumer transactions from 2020-2022, provides the opposite conclusion. In fact, the application of electronic age verification software used during the pre-purchase checkout of alcohol online represents the most reliable way for reducing the ills of minors access to alcohol. Properly employed pre-purchase age verification software has resulted in a 100% compliance rate. Furthermore, it provides precise data on whether minors are utilizing online platforms to attempt purchases of alcohol.
The findings in this paper point to direct-to-consumer sales as the safest way for alcohol to be sold and pre-purchase age verification software is a cost effective and reliable way to block and measure minors attempt to purchase alcohol online. Further, it demonstrates that minors are not attempting to use direct to consumer avenues in any significant number to secure alcohol.
Data analysed is from online transactions that lead to shipments by common carriers such as FedEx and UPS and not by local delivery services such as Drizly, Instacart, etc.
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