Walmart is testing a new grocery delivery service that pairs with smart door locks to allow delivery personnel to deliver groceries to the recipient’s fridge if they don’t answer the door.
The service would give delivery personnel a one-time passcode to enter the home and recipients could watch the delivery with an app to ensure their home remains secure, according to Business Insider. The door would lock behind the delivery person as they left the home.
The initiative is part of an effort to compete with Amazon as it grabs more and more market share from longtime retailers. Walmart’s online sales were up 73 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2017, and groceries accounted for 26 percent of Walmart’s U.S. online sales, BI reported.
The initiative is being tested in partnership with August Home, a smart lock company, with a small number of Silicon Valley users.
“What might seem novel today could be the standard tomorrow,” Walmart VP of Ecommerce Strategy and Business Operations Sloan Eddleston blogged on Friday, noting that this option might not be for everyone, but is something the company wants to explore as an option for busy people to help them save time and money.
Other recent Walmart initiatives include a membership-free two-day shipping program, pickup discounts when customers choose to pick up orders in a store rather than have them shipped to their homes, and even having a Walmart store employee drop off an online order on their way home after a shift.
Twitter users seemed opposed to the idea of someone entering their homes when they weren’t there, so it remains to be seen whether this direct-to-fridge delivery service will catch on or not.
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