Walmart Just won’t Give Up on this Idea

The Lempert Report
July 18, 2019

Would you trust a stranger stocking your fridge?

In a new service that has been talked about for well over a year now, Walmart customers will be able to order groceries online, and then a Walmart worker will drive the food from a nearby store and deliver it to fridges in customers' kitchens or garages.    

Walmart piloted its new service in New Jersey for five months and is ready to expand. The option will be available to more than a million customers this fall in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Florida.  

Walmart's employees will wear a camera when they enter customers' homes, allowing shoppers to watch the process live from their phones. Customers won't have to pay for a camera, but they will have to purchase a special door lock.    

The biggest barrier Walmart will face – no surprise – is that most people just don’t want strangers – even if they are Walmart employees coming in to their homes. One way Walmart is trying to alleviate customer concerns about the service: A biography with three fun facts about their delivery employees. I’ll take a pass.