April 19, 2020
@PAWINESPIRITS/FACEBOOK
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is implementing a curbside pickup program for alcohol orders across the state, starting this Monday.
Curbside pickup will now be available to customers starting on Monday at a select number of Pennsylvania liquor stores across the state, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced.
Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning, select Pennsylvania liquor stores will begin taking a limited number of orders by phone until 1:00 p.m. or until it meets the maximum number of orders that it can complete that day, whichever comes first. No more than six bottles may be purchased in a single curbside pickup order, and customers will be limited to only one order at each store per day.
Liquor store staff will provide customers with available products to purchase at each location, and payment must be made via credit card over the phone. Furthermore, there are no returns available.
“Fine Wine & Good Spirits is making strides in expanding service to our customers,” the agency said. “We ask you to remain patient if you don’t get through by phone right away. We’re optimistic our capacity to fulfill orders through our website and curbside pickup will increase in the coming weeks. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.”
For a complete listing of Pennsylvania liquor stores across the state offering curbside pickup, click here.
The rollout of the Monday-Saturday curbside pickup program comes several weeks after the state initially reopened online liquor sales for customers, only to quickly shut it down due to the overwhelming demand. For the brief time that it was originally open, customers were permitted to buy up to six bottles per online order and allowed to have only one order shipped to their home address per day.
The online site of Fine Wine & Good Spirits has since reopened, but it is only allowing a certain number of purchases and visitors per day so that orders can be processed and completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
State liquor stores took in 4,300 orders, which were worth a total of $386,000, during the first five days after online sales reopened, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said. Through the first 15 days of the month, the online Fine Wine & Good Spirits store handled over 23,000 orders worth over $2.1 million, according to data provided by the state.
During the first half of April, the highest number of orders taken in a single day was 4,408 on Wednesday after orders had been capped at roughly 1,800 per day. The site accepted 6,500 orders on Thursday.
The agency said on Thursday that it will expand online liquor sales by using over 100 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores to increase fulfillment of orders, as e-commerce sales rose by 850% in the first half of April. The stores will be open to only a limited number of employees to complete online orders, and the state said that it hoped to have upwards of 121 fulfillment facilities up and running by the end of the weekend.
Liquor stores across the state were forced to shut down on March 19 after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-essential businesses to close until further notice in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. They will remain closed to the public until further notice.
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