Walmart beefs up InHome service with groceries delivered straight to the fridge

Walmart is bulking up its InHome delivery service with plans to reach 30 million households and hire 3,000 delivery associates this year, the company said on Wednesday.

The two-year-old service is available to six million households and will ramp up as Walmart hires more specialized delivery employees who use smart technology including body cameras and security codes allowing them to enter customers’ homes — even putting their food in the fridge for them.

The service is “a perfect solution for customers who want to live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery,” Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile at Walmart U.S. said in a statement.

Walmart is also adding a new fleet of electric delivery vans for the program.

But the timing of the expansion during a pandemic is curious, industry experts said.

“It’s strange to push the service as consumers continue to self-quarantine to avoid contact with strangers,” retail consultant Brittain Ladd told The Post.

What’s more, attracting low-wage, hourly workers continues to be problematic for most employers – and Walmart is offering just $1.50 more an hour for the InHome delivery employees.

“The role of associate delivery driver is a new, up and coming full-time position in Walmart stores that is focused on employing highly-qualified associates who are interested in serving customers beyond the store and in the community,” the company said in a statement.

The program was initially championed by Walmart’s former e-commerce head, Marc Lore, who resigned at the beginning of 2021 afte a five-year stint, in which he positioned Walmart to go head-to-head with arch rival, Amazon, according to Ladd.

“Walmart knows that if they can gain trust from consumers to deliver products into their home, it can fulfill many more orders from their stores and bundle the deliveries,” Ladd added.

InHome “is an important part of the retailer’s last-mile delivery strategy, which includes creating a low-cost last-mile delivery,” Walmart said in a statement.

The service costs $19.95 per month or $148 per year, including tips, which are built into the membership price, according to Walmart. Customers can extend one-time access to their InHome associate using an existing smart lock, a garage keypad, or by purchasing a new smart lock from InHome for $49.95.

Customers place their orders on Walmart’s app and can also return unwanted items via the delivery employees.

“What we’ve learned in the years we’ve been testing our InHome proposition,” Ward told CNBC, “is that customers love the convenience of having the items that they’ve ordered put in their fridge, their freezer, or left on their countertop, or in the garage when they come home. And they can just set and forget, and really do the things they want to spend their time doing.”

The company did not immediately explain its policies regarding pet dogs, who might attack strangers entering their homes.

Amazon, by contrast, announced a similar service in 2017 – Amazon Key – that allows its delivery workers to drop off packages inside Amazon Prime customers’ homes using smart technology and cameras.

The service was “paused” during the pandemic, according to Amazon’s website, but Prime customers can still opt to have their deliveries brought into their garages.