Austin's market is flooded with easy ways to get beer, wine and liquor delivered to your doorstep. Now, a new Boston-based competitor has entered the market and is trying to differentiate and win over more sophisticated drinkers.
Buttery, founded in 2015 as a competitor to Drizly, another Boston-based booze delivery service, is now available in Austin through its iPhone and Android apps.
Founder Gaurav Mehta told me via email that Buttery is trying to differentiate by letting customers pick the store to order from, based on proximity or by the specialty products they carry.
For example, an experienced scotch drinker might be willing to order from a store that's a bit farther than the shop down the street in order to get that perfect peaty bottle. In the app, you can see real-time inventories at stores in Buttery's network and decide whether to order and pick it up (paying via the app) or have it delivered.
"One of the biggest differentiators is our tech platform that puts any liquor store online within minutes with branding e-commerce storefronts and rich analytics for retailers," he wrote.
In Austin, Buttery has partnered with Oak Liquor Cabinet, Far West Liquors and Travis Heights. So, why launch this service in Austin?
"Since our launch in Boston, we have been collecting customer interest from different parts of the country and saw high demand from Austin," Mehta wrote. "Obviously, Austin has the perfect customer demographic for us -- working professionals between the ages of 25-35 and tons of great independent retailers."
I gave the app a try -- in the name of science and consumer testing, of course.
The app worked well, until I loaded something in my cart I really didn't want. Inside the shopping cart of the app, I initially couldn't remove a bottle of tequila that I decided I didn't want. So, I just ordered the dang bottle. Don't worry, I'll try to expense it -- and it will not go to waste. Later, I realized there was a trash can icon at the bottom of the screen I hadn't noticed. (Mehta tells me they're working on a better user experience.)
I got a quick email receipt from Buttery of my order. Then, I got another confirming my order. One email probably would have convinced me the nectar is en route.
Buttery estimated my order would arrive "ASAP (Within 60 mins)." It arrived in 25 minutes, which seems pretty good considering the liquor store is 4 miles away and I ordered during high traffic at 4:45 p.m.
As for the cost, it's similar to many other on-demand delivery services. It had a flat $5 delivery fee, and it auto-generated a 10% tip, which I agreed to. For my $50 subtotal, I felt the $5 fee and $5 auto-generated tip was a bit much to ask for the convenience. But I tend to be a bit on the cheap side, and I could have dialed back the tip.
I've had one or two alcohol deliveries in the past in which the beer or bottle ordered arrived at room temperature, which sucks. In this case, even in 101 degree heat, my beer arrived as cold as you'd expect if you bought it from the store yourself.
To me, the coolest part of Buttery is just the online shopping and being able to pay online and just pick up my order on the way home from work or from the grocery store.
I probably won't get drinks delivered to my doorstep very often (I don't think I've done it once since the last story I wrote about booze delivery). But scrolling through a store's actual inventory is a pretty pleasurable activity -- especially if you already have a cold one in your hand.
