In brief: Sick of having to be home to receive grocery deliveries? With Walmart’s new system, not only can an order be delivered when you’re out, but it'll also be put directly into your refrigerator.
Called InHome Delivery, the system is Walmart’s take on rival Amazon’s Key service, which allows packages to be placed inside a customer’s home, garage, or car. Much like Amazon’s version, InHome Delivery requires that users have Walmart install a smart lock on the outside of their home or garage.
Once the smart lock is installed, users can place a grocery order from Walmart.com or the Walmart mobile app, pick a date and time, then select if it should go in the garage or straight into the kitchen fridge.
The Walmart employee will use a one-time code via a mobile device to gain entry, and will be fitted with a “proprietary, wearable camera.” This will "[allow] customers to control access into their homes and [give] them the ability to watch the deliveries remotely," so you don’t have to worry about the person doing anything more than just delivering food.
The Walmart associates who deliver the groceries will go through an extensive training program to ensure they treat customers’ homes with care and respect. They’ll also be shown how to “select the freshest items for delivery and organize the most efficient refrigerator.”
InHome is set to roll out this fall to over 1 million customers in Kansas City, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Vero Beach, Florida. No word yet on how much deliveries, and the smart locks, will cost.
The service will be expanded later this year to include returns, which will involve leaving items you want to return on the kitchen counter so the InHome associate can let themselves in and pick it up.
