Walmart to Launch Delivery Inside the Home

Walmart's new InHome Delivery service allows customers to receive their groceries when they are not home. Walmart associates will use smart entry technology to go inside the home at an agreed upon time, unpacking groceries and putting them in the fridge. 

"These associates, whose jobs are focused on this service, will also go through an extensive training program which prepares them to enter customers’ homes with the same care and respect with which they would treat a friend's or family’s home – not to mention how to select the freshest grocery items and organize the most efficient refrigerator," said Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart Ecommerce U.S., in a company statement.  

Associates have wearable cameras, allowing customers to watch the entire process remotely in real-time. 

InHome delivery will launch in the fall in Kansas City, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Vero Beach, Florida. Walmart also plans to expand the service so associates can accept Walmart.com merchandise returns that customers leave out.

"The technology powering InHome Delivery combines the power of our store footprint, store associates and world-class fresh supply chain," said Lore. "Now we can serve customers not just in the last mile, but in the last 15 feet. And that’s truly inspiring!"

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries, and ecommerce websites. The company is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.