Imagine this: Having food not only delivered to your home, but stuffed inside your fridge when you're not there. Creepy, or convenient?
Walmart is betting that convenience — and the chance to prevent package thefts — will outweigh any reservations people have about a stranger entering their homes. The big box retailer announced that it's expanding its InHome delivery service from 6 million to 30 million homes by the end of 2022.
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To pull it off, Walmart plans to hire more than 3,000 delivery drivers and build a fleet of all-electric delivery vans this year. The program, which began in 2019, is currently available in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, southeast Florida, northwest Arkansas, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. Walmart officials say the program will soon be available in Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Indianapolis.
To alleviate privacy concerns, Walmart says every InHome delivery is live-streamed and recorded from start to finish. Associates are vetted and insured, and they also wear masks and sanitize all surfaces they touch.
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The service runs a hefty $19.95 per month, or $148 a year — but on the bright side, tips and additional fees are built into the membership price. Customers also need to have a smart lock or garage keypad, or they'll need to purchase a smart lock from InHome for $49.95. That may be an investment not everyone wants to make, but for some, discovering a week's worth of groceries in the kitchen after a long day at work might be priceless.
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