Total Wine & More

Review by eFreeware

The most distinctive thing about the Total Wine & More app is that it turns a phone into a remote control for a physical store. You can look through the retailer's catalog, pick the location nearest you, and place an order without walking the aisles first. That combination of browsing, ordering and store logistics is the whole point, and it shapes everything else in the app.

It is built for people who already shop at Total Wine & More or live within reach of one of its stores. If you buy wine, beer or spirits regularly and want the buying part to take less time, this is the tool the company offers you. It is free, it carries a Mature 17+ rating, and it has been downloaded more than a million times with a 4.6 average from over 22,000 ratings.

Browsing, scanning and deciding

The catalog side is straightforward. You search the selection, set your local store, and order from there. What I find more interesting is the barcode scanner: point it at a bottle and the app pulls up product information along with ratings and reviews. That is a genuinely useful move for anyone standing in a store trying to decide between two labels, because the decision happens at the shelf rather than at home.

There is also a deals page that collects limited-time specials and promotions, so discounts are visible in one place instead of being discovered at the register. A recipes section on the homepage offers cocktail ideas, which gives the app something to do on the evenings you are not buying anything.

Taken together, these features cover the two halves of a purchase: figuring out what you want, and getting it. The scanner and reviews handle the first; the deals page nudges you toward a decision. None of it is complicated, and that seems to be the intent.

Pickup, curbside and delivery

Ordering is the main reason to keep the app on a home screen. You can choose express in-store pickup, which the company says guarantees your order will be ready quickly, and that option is available at all of its 250-plus locations. If you would rather not go inside, contactless curbside pickup is being introduced at select stores, with employees bringing orders out to customers' cars.

For the times when a store trip is not going to happen at all, same-day delivery sends an order to a home or office at a time you choose, covering wine, beer, spirits and more. You can also order snacks, food and beverages alongside the drinks. The app tracks orders with confirmation notifications and status updates, so you are not left wondering where things stand.

Reordering is handled through your in-store and online purchase history, which matters more than it sounds. Most people buy the same few bottles repeatedly, and being able to repeat an order without rebuilding it from scratch is the kind of feature that decides whether an app gets opened again. Support is available through a live chat feature on the customer service page, and gift cards can be redeemed online by entering the card details at checkout.

Events, classes and the store side

You can sign up for store events and classes through the app. That is a different use case from ordering: it is about showing up and learning something, whether that is a tasting or a guided session, and it gives the app a reason to exist beyond transactions.

Between the recipes, the events calendar and the scanner, there is a reasonable amount here for someone who is curious about what they drink rather than just restocking. The store itself stocks snacks and other food and drink, so an order does not have to be limited to alcohol.

What the app requires of you

The main constraint is geographic. Ordering and the rest of the app's functions work in the states where the company has stores: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Two other things are worth setting expectations around. The app contains ads, and there are no in-app purchases, so the shopping experience is the product rather than something you pay to improve. Curbside pickup is described as rolling out at select stores rather than everywhere, so availability depends on your location. The 17-and-over rating reflects what the app is for.

Account deletion is handled by phone, which is worth knowing before you set one up. The latest update focuses on performance and bug fixes rather than new features.

A store companion for regulars

Judged by its stated focus, this app is for people who buy alcohol regularly and have a Total Wine & More nearby. The scanner and reviews suit the shopper who likes to compare before committing; the pickup, curbside and delivery options suit anyone who would rather not spend an afternoon in a store; the events list suits customers who want to attend tastings and classes.

It is a retailer's app, and it behaves like one. Its value scales directly with how often you shop at the stores it serves.

The 4.6 average across more than 22,000 ratings suggests the people using it are broadly satisfied, and the install count of over a million is consistent with a national chain's customer base. Those numbers are a signal of scale rather than a guarantee, but they are a reasonable starting point.

Whether it is worth installing

If you live in one of the states the company serves and you buy wine, beer or spirits more than occasionally, I would install this. The barcode scanner alone is a good reason to keep it on your phone, and the pickup, curbside and delivery options cover most of the reasons you would otherwise make a separate trip. It is free, and there is nothing to buy inside it.

That is a limitation of the retailer's footprint rather than a flaw in the software, but it determines whether the app is useful to you.

For the regular customer, the combination of ordering, order tracking, reordering and event registration makes a convincing case. The app was released in January 2018 and is still being updated, and it does the job it sets out to do without asking for money or overcomplicating the process.

What's new in version 10.6.1

This update includes performance enhancements and bug fixes to make your experience smoother and more reliable.