Walmart wants to stock your fridge while you aren’t home

Launching a pilot program in Silicon Valley this week, Walmart is testing out a service that would send employees into homes to restock the fridge, even if the customer isn’t home. This is specifically for homes with smart locks and monitoring tools, in order to keep track of the delivery person in your home.

This is how it works: After an online order is placed, a Walmart delivery worker uses a one-time code for entry into a home (like on an August smart lock). When that code is punched in, the door unlocks and the homeowner receives a smartphone notification that the code has just been used.

At this point, the homeowner can watch the delivery worker enter their home and place groceries inside their fridge; assuming they have security cameras in the right areas of the home. Once the fridge is stocked and the employee leaves the home, the homeowner receives a notification about the delivery being completed. The door lock automatically secures the home when the worker leaves.

Of course, it’s unlikely that a homeowner would always have the time to watch deliveries taking place. It’s likely that a homeowner would need to invest in DVR technology to record the video feed during the delivery. In addition, it could be a security issue if the worker wanders out of view of the camera.

At this time, this only appears to be tested with August Home customers. If Walmart wants to take this concept to a wider audience, they will have to work with other home security manufacturers like Nest. There’s also no information on how much this type of delivery service will cost. It’s likely to have a more significant delivery fee than someone simply dropping off a box on your doorstep.

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One Comment

1. 

   ROYCE E. BARBER

   September 27, 2017 at 1:01 pm

   Oh HAEL no! Maybe if the fridge were in a heavily locked garage. Otherwise the only thing a walmart employee will see in my home is a shotgun pointed at them. I would consider placing a fridge within easy access next to a door into the garage. Not that I would be happy about it, but when I’m on vacation and the house sitter needs to mooch off of my food, then that’s a possibility. So I’d be happy and paranoid at the same time.

   Reply