Uber to Shut Down Drizly Alcohol Delivery App in March

In a surprising move, Uber has announced the closure of its alcohol delivery app, Drizly, only three years after acquiring it for a hefty $1.1 billion. The service experienced significant growth during the pandemic, with a 300% year-over-year increase in 2021. Despite the initial success, Uber plans to shut down Drizly in March 2024.

Uber had acquired Drizly with the intention of operating it as a standalone app and integrating it within the Uber Eats interface. The app provided alcohol delivery services to customers in over 1,400 cities. However, recent cybersecurity concerns, highlighted by a 2020 hack exposing data of 2.5 million customers, played a role in Drizly's demise. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action against Drizly's CEO, requiring the implementation of a security program for companies collecting information from over 25,000 people.

Despite the closure of Drizly, which was first reported by Axios, Uber reassures customers that alcohol delivery remains available through the Uber Eats app, covering 35 US states and 25-plus additional countries. In a broader move to consolidate its product delivery portfolio, Uber also shut down its on-demand grocery delivery service, Cornershop, acquired in 2019 for $1.4 billion.

The decision to close Drizly aligns with Uber's strategic focus on its Uber Eats platform, especially after acquiring Postmates in a $2.65 billion deal. The future of Uber's platform remains uncertain as the company directs its attention towards enhancing and expanding its food delivery services, which currently operate in over 6,000 cities across 45 countries.