The world of e-commerce and deliveries seems to be getting consistently stranger, and if you thought Amazon"s Key delivery service - which can put items in your car or in your garage - was creepy, Walmart has found a way to one-up that. Today, the retailing giant announced its next step to make online shopping more convenient by delivering groceries directly to your fridge. Yes, in your house.
Workers handling the deliveries will use smart entry technology and a proprietary wearable camera, which means that customers can control access to their homes as well as watch over the delivery process remotely. Walmart also wants to make sure that its workers treat the customer"s house in the same way they would treat a friend or family member"s home. What"s more, workers will be trained on how to choose fresh groceries and efficiently organize a fridge.
The InHome service will go beyond deliveries in the future, too. Walmart says that later this year, you can use it to return items you bought from its website. You can place any items you want to return on the counter, and Walmart"s workers will pick it up and handle the return process for you.
While arguments can be made for the convenience of a service like this, it remains to be seen how the public feels about letting strangers into their home. InHome will launch this fall in the following three cities: Kansas City, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Vero Beach, Florida. Plans for wider availability weren"t disclosed.