Walmart is testing straight to your fridge delivery service

Shopping for groceries can be a hassle for many busy families. You need to make the time to go to the store, make sure you find everything on our list (and a few things that likely weren’t), lug them home and then put them away. Sometimes this can be a fun trip, but more often, you’re either pressed for time or, worst of all, can’t make the trip, leaving you with an empty fridge that has you munching on unhealthy snacks, instead of our typical fresh fruit, vegetables and yogurt.

Also read, Walmart Canada removes pickup fee for online grocery shoppers.

What if Walmart could help busy families like yours ensure the fridge was always well-stocked? What if Walmart created a service that not only did your grocery shopping and brought everything to your home, but even went so far as to put it directly into your fridge? And, what if it was even more convenient because this “in-fridge delivery” happened while you are at work or off doing other things?

In setting out to solve this challenge, Walmart announced they are testing new delivery ideas with companies like August Home. As one of the leading providers of smart locks and smart home accessories, they’re a great partner to test these new concepts, like delivering packages inside customers’ homes and putting groceries away in their refrigerators.

Here’s how the test will work: You place an order on Walmart.com for several items, even groceries. When my order is ready, a Deliv driver will retrieve the items and bring them to your home. If no one answers the doorbell, he or she will have a one-time passcode that will open the home’s smart lock.

As the homeowner, you're in control of the experience the entire time – the moment the Deliv driver rings the doorbell, the homeowner receive a smartphone notification that the delivery is occurring and, if you choose, you can watch the delivery take place in real-time. The Deliv associate will drop off the packages in my foyer and then carry your groceries to the kitchen, unload them in the fridge and leave. Customers can watch the entire process from start to finish from their home security cameras through the August app. As once the Deliv associate exit your front door, customers will receive confirmation that the door has automatically been locked.

When you enter your house later that day, it’s like magic– the items purchased from Walmart.com are waiting for you, and the groceries are nice and cool in the fridge, as if they never left their display in the store. And the best part is that you didn’t have to unpack anything. Think about that – someone else does the shopping for you and puts it all away. Clearly this adds more convenience to the day-to-day, but it makes the unexpected easier, too. Imagine planning a last-minute get-together and having everything you need to entertain already waiting for you inside your fridge. Or maybe you think during lunch at work that you’d like to surprise your spouse by making dinner, but don’t have time to run to the store. In the future, you could order on Walmart.com and start cooking minutes after you walk through the door.

Walmart is running this test in Silicon Valley with a small group of August Home customers, all of whom have opted-in to participate in testing this new concept. Walmart also said they want to do more in the future by delivering groceries and other orders in whatever location works best for customers – inside the house for some and in the fridge/freezer in the garage for others. The possibilities are endless.

These tests are a natural evolution of what Walmart is all about – an obsession in saving customers not just money but also time, making customers’ lives easier in the process. What might seem novel today could be the standard tomorrow. This may not be for everyone – and certainly not right away – but Walmart wants to offer customers the opportunity to participate in tests that will help shape what commerce will look like in the future.

SOURCE Sloan Eddleston, Walmart