Dan Murphy’s unveils number plate recognition drive-thru service

Remedios Lucio

14th Sep 2020

Liquor store Dan Murphy’s has unveiled a new boot drive-thru service at its Manly Vale store where customers who have placed their orders online can collect their purchases.

After customers register their car’s registration number when ordering, cameras will recognise the number plate and alert store staff via SMS.

Staff will then load the order into the customer’s boot, the entire pickup taking less than three minutes.

“We are using technology to offer increasing convenience to customers, and the Covid crisis has accelerated the demand for innovative e-commerce solutions,” explained Dan Murphy’s GM of digital Claire Smith.

The new service will be rolled out into more stores during the next year. Contactless pick-up increased by 61 per cent in the last financial year, according to statistics from the liquor store’s parent company, Endeavour Group.

“The Direct-to-boot service started as an idea to help customers and team members socially distance, but customers have responded to the convenience of it, so we are not only keeping the service indefinitely, but expanding the offer,” Smith explained.

The company’s digital arm Endeavour X launched last August.

Smith said Covid-19 had changed the ways people shop for liquor and retailers have had to adapt and innovate to meet customers’ needs.

“We changed the way we deliver due to Covid-19, and developed contactless delivery for our team and customers, with many customers opting for contactless delivery in order to maintain social distance,” she said.