Amazon Expanding Garage Grocery Delivery
It turns out that a lot of Americans love the idea of having a stranger deliver their groceries directly into their garages.
On April 27, Amazon announced that it is expanding Key by Amazon In-Garage Grocery Delivery to everywhere grocery delivery from Amazon is available, providing the service to more than 5,000 U.S. cities and towns. Originally launched in five cities last November, Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery proved to be very popular with Amazon customers, according to the company. It can now be used by millions more eligible Prime members wishing to have their Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market groceries delivered inside their garage to keep packages safe from weather, damage and sticky-fingered neighbors.
“Customers who tried Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery have loved the service, which is why we’re expanding it to everywhere Amazon offers grocery delivery,” said Pete Gerstberger, head of Key by Amazon. “As customers look for more convenience in their daily lives, we’re excited to deliver another service that not only helps them save time, but provides peace of mind knowing that tonight’s dinner is safe in their garage and out of the weather.”
Eligible Prime members can shop online and build a cart just like they would for any grocery delivery order. Customers with a compatible garage door opener or myQ Smart Garage Hub can connect the myQ app with Key, then simply select “Key Delivery” at checkout for no additional cost. Once the order is placed, a trained shopper will fill the order, selecting products that meet the standards of Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market. Grocery orders are delivered by a delivery service professional, and customers can use the Key by Amazon app or the Amazon mobile shopping app to be notified when their groceries arrive.
“We’ve worked hard to bring the convenience of grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market to even more Prime members, now reaching customers in more than 5,000 cities and towns,” said Stephenie Landry, VP of grocery at Amazon. “I’m thrilled to offer customers Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery, and believe this expansion illustrates our commitment to continually innovate to make the experience of ordering groceries online even better for customers.”
Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery is available everywhere Amazon offers grocery delivery, at no additional cost to eligible Prime members. A myQ connected smart garage door opener is required to enable garage access for secure delivery. To view videos of their delivery, customers can use a compatible Ring smart home camera with their Ring Protect Plan, or LiftMaster Smart Garage Camera powered by myQ with a myQ Video Storage Subscription.
The garage grocery delivery expansion comes just one week after Amazon made another announcement in its quest to reinvent the grocery space and how consumers shop. The company is now allowing grocery shoppers at Whole Foods Market to pay for groceries without cash, credit cards or even a smartphone app.
Amazon announced April 21 that it is launching its Amazon One technology at Whole Foods Market in Seattle, with plans to expand the tech cross the chain in the coming months. Amazon One allows shoppers to pay using the palm of their hand: their unique palm signature, as Amazon calls it.
Amazon first introduced the technology in September as an entry and payment option at several non-Whole Foods stores in the Seattle area, including Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star and Amazon Pop Up.
Amazon says thousands of customers have signed up for the service, and feedback has been great — customers have shared they appreciate how quick it is to enroll and use, and that its contactless nature has been helpful in the current environment.
"Over the past several years, we’ve focused on innovating on behalf of our customers to make their shopping trips easier and more effortless," said Dilip Kumar, VP, physical retail and technology at Amazon. "We started with Just Walk Out technology in Amazon Go, and we have since brought that experience to new store formats and locations, and made it available as a service to third-party retailers to use in their stores. We built the Amazon Dash Cart, a smart shopping cart that helps customers in our Amazon Fresh grocery stores skip the checkout line and roll out when they’re done. Most recently, we introduced Amazon One, a fast, convenient, contactless way for people to use their palm to enter, identify and pay."
Customers who are new to using Amazon One can sign up at any Amazon One kiosk or device in participating stores, and enrollment takes less than a minute. After they insert their credit card, customers hover their palm over the device and follow the prompts to associate that card with the unique palm signature being built in real-time for them by computer vision technology. Customers will have the option to enroll with just one palm or both. Once enrolled, customers can use Amazon One to pay at participating Whole Foods Market stores in about a second or so. If customers have previously signed up for Amazon One at an Amazon store, they may need to re-insert their credit card one time at an Amazon One device in a Whole Foods Market so they can continue to use the service in those stores. And, if customers choose to link their Amazon One ID with their Amazon account, they can automatically get their Prime member discount as usual at Whole Foods Market.
“At Whole Foods Market, we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the shopping experience for our customers,” said Arun Rajan, SVP of technology and chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market. “Working closely with Amazon, we’ve brought benefits like Prime member discounts, online grocery delivery and pickup, and free returns to our customers, and we’re excited to add Amazon One as a payment option beginning today. We’re starting with an initial store at Madison Broadway in Seattle and look forward to hearing what customers think as we expand this option to additional stores over time.”
Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on Progressive Grocer’s 2020 PG 100 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods is No. 24 on PG's list.
