ÁTVR considers reviving home delivery after 26 years

Iceland’s state alcohol and tobacco retailer is considering restarting home delivery, a service it first offered in 2000, mbl.is reports. CEO Þorgerður Kristín Þráinsdóttir said no final decision has been made, and the company will not proceed until it can ensure responsible delivery, including preventing alcohol from being handed to anyone under 20.

The retailer is examining ways to offer customers a wider range of products, including items not stocked in its shops. Þráinsdóttir said delivery could also give suppliers, including Icelandic producers, more opportunities to reach customers and improve service for people outside the capital region.

Delivery would generally take about two days, both in the capital area and elsewhere in the country. The plan is focused on access to a broader selection rather than speed, she said, and is not intended to compete with online retailers offering near-instant access to products.

Asked whether home delivery would be legal, Þráinsdóttir said the company believed it had the necessary authority. She cited a recent district court ruling on online alcohol sales, which said online sales are a form of retail. The company has permission to conduct retail sales and would apply the same safeguards as in its shops, she said.

Any changes would involve the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the relevant ministry. Þráinsdóttir said the ministry had raised no objections.

ÁTVR previously offered home delivery after launching its online shop in 2000. Customers could have wine delivered to their door by Iceland Post within one to three days. Þráinsdóttir said the company may have been ahead of its time then, but that it now made sense to adapt its service to changing consumer behaviour.