We extracted the number of outlets offering alcohol on Deliveroo across 32 London boroughs (excluding City of London due to a small population). London was selected pragmatically. Deliveroo was chosen as it is one of the United Kingdom’s most popular platforms [8], and preliminary assessments showed that it had more alcohol outlets compared with similar platforms.

Eligible outlets delivered to a London borough and predominantly offered alcohol. We excluded restaurants offering preprepared food and supermarkets offering fruits or vegetables. Eligible outlets either exclusively offered alcohol or offered alcohol alongside confectionary or snacks (outlets most relevant to public health). We coded outlets as those that exclusively sold alcohol (eg, Alcohol4U), off-licenses, and premium (eg, bottle or wine shops).

We determined outlet eligibility and data extraction concurrently (July-August 2023) after pilot testing, which revealed high inter-rater agreement (88% for assigning eligibility and 98% for accuracy of extracted data).

Using Chrome, we used Deliveroo’s built-in alcohol filter to identify eligible outlets. One researcher checked eligibility and identified whether outlets sold tobacco or e-cigarettes and what type of driver was used. A randomly selected 10% of the data were checked by a second researcher, with high agreement (≥97% for assigning eligibility and data extraction checking). If we were uncertain about an outlet’s eligibility or extraction, we sought consensus.

For 60 outlets delivering to the most boroughs, we compared the address listed on Deliveroo with the address in Google to identify whether the Deliveroo outlet also had an offline outlet.

We converted the total number of outlets into a crude rate per 1000 population aged 18-64 years for all boroughs and outlet types using 2021 midyear population estimates [9]. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to explore the association between the crude rate of outlets (overall and by outlet type) and average Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019 scores [10]. Descriptive analyses were undertaken in Excel (Microsoft Corp), and maps were developed in RStudio (R-version 4.2.2; Posit PBC).

Ethical approval was not required as included data were publicly available, not individual level, and were deidentified.

A large number of web-based alcohol outlets deliver alcohol in London, particularly from outlets exclusively offering alcohol alongside tobacco or e-cigarettes. Most outlets exclusively offering alcohol delivered across multiple boroughs and used drivers not employed by Deliveroo. Among the small number of outlets checked, many listed their premise as a self-storage address. We did not collect data on operating hours, but a small-scale London-based study found that similar online outlets, particularly those almost exclusively offering alcohol and tobacco or e-cigarettes, tend to be open late into the evening or early morning [6], beyond hours of brick-and-mortar outlets. These findings are concerning given that higher availability of alcohol is associated with higher alcohol consumption or harm [1,5].

To sell alcohol in England, outlets must be licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 (herein the Act), and license holders have a legal responsibility to refuse sale to children or intoxicated people [11]. The Act was written when alcohol sales overwhelmingly occurred in person. Although Deliveroo’s policy requires drivers to age verify and refuse delivery to an intoxicated person [12], they hold no legal responsibility under the Act (this remains with the license holder) [11]. This might lead to poorer age verification. Evidence suggests that delivery processes of online sales (such as age verification) do not have the same standards as physical outlets [7]. Additionally, 45% of mystery shoppers under-25 ordering age-restricted products using third-party online platforms were asked for proof of age on delivery compared with 78% in person [13]. If the license holder employs their own drivers to undertake deliveries, age verification might be more similar to in person because the license holder (or employee) is interacting with the customer.

Among the small number of outlets checked, many listed self-storage addresses, despite these companies prohibiting alcohol storage (e.g. [14]). Although the Act does not prohibit such locations as licensable premises, regulators may be unaware and should consider whether this is appropriate and what safeguards are required to protect children and vulnerable people. Platforms do not only increase convenience of existing alcohol retailers but also facilitate the proliferation of new, online-only outlets, thereby increasing overall alcohol availability.

Previous UK research reports significant associations between availability of physical alcohol outlets and deprivation [15,16]. Existing research, mostly on food, reports higher availability of online outlets with higher deprivation [17]. Availability and deprivation were not associated in our study. Deprivation varies markedly within London boroughs, so our finding may reflect the use of borough, not postcode, level deprivation measures. A similar New Zealand study reported no significant relationship between online alcohol access and deprivation [18]. Outlets exclusively offering alcohol tended to deliver across multiple boroughs, some from central warehouses serving most of London. There might be sociodemographic differences in people who use online platforms for alcohol compared with those who buy in person; however, little research exists and further exploration is required. Similarly, more research comprehensively describing the online alcohol retail environment would aid the call of Directors of Public Health to use licensing to prevent alcohol-related harm [19].

This study reports the presence of alcohol and tobacco or e-cigarettes offered via the web and not differences in the number of products available at each outlet. We do not capture actual sales of products. We underrepresent the availability of alcohol on Deliveroo by excluding supermarkets and restaurants and did not capture other relevant aspects of availability related to alcohol consumption and harm such as pricing or operating hours. Our results are from 1 metropolitan English region, so they may not be generalizable to other regions or countries.

The digital age revolutionized the home delivery industry. Because increased availability of alcohol is associated with increased alcohol consumption or alcohol-related harm, understanding alcohol’s availability online is a public health priority. We found many outlets offering rapid-delivery alcohol, often delivered by drivers who have no legal responsibility for age verification. Regulations for delivery are needed to protect children and vulnerable adults. We found online outlets listing self-storage facilities, testing the boundaries of the licensing system. More research in this area is justified, and the Licensing Act 2003 requires modernization in the digital age.