US supermarket Walmart is taking away the biggest annoyance of parcel deliverers and online consumers: they deliver to the fridge, even if you are not at home.
For the pilot, one of America's largest supermarkets is collaborating with start-up Augus Home, maker of internet-connected door locks. Households that have a lock from the start-up can choose to give permission for the grocery delivery driver to enter.
This makes it possible to have your groceries delivered even when you are not at home. The delivery driver uses a temporarily usable PIN to enter the house, puts the fresh groceries in the fridge, the perishable ones on the table and leaves again. For now, the trial is being conducted at households on the West Coast, near Sillicon Valley.
The video below demonstrates it:
Theft
Theft should be prevented by smart cameras in the home, through an app consumers can then watch. Those without this can choose to have the products delivered to their garage, for example.
With the trial, Walmart wants to increase service levels: consumers who are not at home are a major annoyance and also environmental polluters. It is also inconvenient for consumers if the parcel deliverer is just at the door when they are not there. The e-commerce industry for supermarkets has been turned upside down in America since a few months, when Amazon took over Whole Food and also started selling food.
