Challenges
Confirm age and identity of online buyers prior to purchase while refuting claims that direct-to-consumer distribution increases risk of minors accessing alcohol
Established in 2006, Vinoshipper is the leading end-to-end, e-commerce platform that gives alcohol producers the ability to sell directly to consumers while navigating the complexities of regulatory compliance and tax collection in real time.
During the Covid-19 pandemic most hospitality venues closed, and foot traffic decreased dramatically. To counteract this reduction in sales, many in the alcohol industry turned to e-commerce to stay afloat. Vinoshipper provided alcohol producers with all the tools needed to connect directly with buyers and expand their direct-to-consumer business.
Though the practice of shipping alcohol products directly to consumers has since become mainstream, making it possible for alcohol producers to capture more demand and increase their margins, some argue that the direct-to-consumer distribution model also increases the risk of making alcohol available to underage drinkers. To refute this claim, Vinoshipper conducted a first-of-its-kind study which demonstrates the effectiveness of IDology age verification software, when employed pre-purchase, at blocking minors attempts to purchase alcohol online.
Solution
To ensure that a legal transaction is taking place, Vinoshipper shopping carts are embedded with the IDology age verification software. At the time of purchase, buyers must enter their name, address as well as month and year of birth. IDology then works behind the scenes, checking buyer inputs against billions of public data records to instantly validate the buyer’s identity and age.
For hard-to-locate identities, or if the buyer’s age cannot be confirmed, Vinoshipper prompts buyers to submit a government-issued ID for processing via IDology’s document authentication solution. IDology accepts the widest range of identity documents, including driver’s licenses, passports and more using one of the industry’s largest global document libraries, enabling Vinoshipper to validate even more identities than with age verification software alone. In the event the buyer is found to be underage or if the ID submitted cannot be authenticated, the pending transaction is cancelled.
IDology also provides full decisioning transparency, giving Vinoshipper the data feedback necessary to support any investigation. With IDology, Vinoshipper can confidently describe to regulators as well as end-customers why certain decisions were made.
Results
Vinoshipper e-commerce platform embedded with IDology age verification achieves 100% compliance
For the study, Vinoshipper compiled transaction data from over 2,000 client shopping carts (both retailers and direct selling producers spread across 47 states) amounting to 633,985 buyers and more than one million shipments across the three years of data that was examined.
The study supports Vinoshipper’s claim that e-commerce platforms with advanced age verification software such as IDology are 100 percent effective at stopping illegal sales of alcoholic beverages to minors. Findings also demonstrate that minors are not attempting to use direct to consumer avenues in any significant number to secure alcohol.
From Q1 2020 through Q4 2022, 75.3% of those buyers that passed, did so first time with the information provided; 24.6% of buyers were required to submit government-issued IDs to confirm their age; and 0.15% of potential buyers were categorized as minors, had their pending transaction cancelled and no payment was taken.
IDology age verification has been endorsed by WineAmerica as the premier solution for its members selling wine on the Internet and is an approved solution in several U.S. states including Michigan, Maryland, South Dakota, Kansas and Massachusetts. Currently, IDology is conducting age verification for customers in several age-restricted industries, including wine, distilled spirits, tobacco and other age-rated vendors and services.