The largest discount retail chain in the world Walmart is testing food delivery in smart cool boxes in front of customers' front doors. The Homevalet-Box has three temperature zones for this.
Walmart, also the largest operator of supermarkets in the USA, is constantly testing innovative ways of supplying and operating its stores. For example, a fully autonomous delivery of goods is to be tried out for the first time in a supermarket in the US state of Arkansas in the coming months. Walmart has also experimented with robots and delivery drones.
Cool box for frozen and fresh food.
The group relies on the smart cool box Homevalet from the start-up of the same name. Based on an IoT (Internet of Things) system, the cool box has three different temperature ranges. This should enable both frozen goods and (chilled) fresh food to be cooled according to their requirements. After a successful test run, the box delivery should initially benefit users of the Walmart Plus subscription service.
Walmart is already delivering groceries free of charge to Walmart Plus subscribers. The service costs US$ 98 a year or US$ 12.95 a month, according to CNBC. The food delivery service launched in 2018 has grown enormously in importance in recent months due to the corona pandemic. Since last year, Walmart has been testing the delivery of food directly to customers' refrigerators as part of a program known as in-home delivery.
Walmart is thinking out loud about 24/7 delivery
For many customers, however, a cool box on the doorstep might be a better alternative. After all, the delivery service does not need to enter the apartment. Instead, the box is opened by the delivery service using a device and closed again after the groceries have been stored. According to Walmart, the lockable cool boxes even offer the option for a full delivery, but that is not currently planned.
