Walmart's InHome Delivery Service Completes First Deliveries

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s InHome Delivery completed its first delivery orders across multiple cities, including Pittsburgh; Kansas City, Mo., and Kan.; and Vero Beach, Fla.

More than 1 million consumers in these markets can now designate their kitchen or garage refrigerator as a delivery point even when they're not home, according to Convenience Store News sister publication Progressive Grocer.

InHome customers have a one-time cost of $49.95 for the corresponding smart device, with free professional installation included. Once the lack is installed, they can receive unlimited deliveries, with a minimum of $30 per order, for an introductory of $19.95 per month. The first month is free.

Employees use the smart entry device and a wearable camera to deliver the orders, while customers can watch remotely.

"We're obsessed with simplifying grocery shopping and finding ways to make our customers' lives easier," said Bart Stein, senior vice president, membership and InHome. "That’s why InHome goes the extra step so that our customers can live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery."

The InHome service complements Walmart's existing Grocery Pickup and Delivery service, according to Stein. The company plans to expand it to more customers in the coming months.

"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," stated Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart Ecommerce U.S., when the service was announced in June.

Walmart first began testing the service that would become InHome in Silicon Valley in 2017 through a partnership with August Home, a San Francisco-based provider of smart locks and other smart home accessories, as Convenience Store News previously reported.

Bentonville-based Walmart operates 11,200 stores under 55 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries.

Convenience Store News and Progressive Grocer are properties of EnsembleIQ.