Walmart is scaling up its InHome delivery service, increasing its availability from 6 million to 30 million U.S. households by the end of the year.
To support the expansion, Walmart plans to hire more than 3,000 associate delivery drivers this year and build a fleet of 100 percent all-electric delivery vans.
“We’ve been operating InHome in select markets over the last two years and have found it 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,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile at Walmart U.S., in a statement. “Identifying ways to help our customers save time and money is our purpose, and nothing showcases that better than InHome delivery.”
Launched in 2019, Walmart’s InHome delivery service is designed to give time back to families by using highly-trained associates to deliver fresh groceries, everyday essentials, and more directly into customers’ homes, including placing items straight into their kitchen or garage refrigerator, as well as picking up Walmart.com returns.
The process for customers is as follows: They place an order on the Walmart app and select InHome delivery. The delivery associate uses a one-time access code to unlock the customer’s door or garage through the InHome app, which pairs with smart entry technology. The customer is notified of every step of the associate and a camera on the associate’s vest records the entire delivery, which customers have access to from their phones for up to a week after each delivery. Associates follow all health and safety measures.
The service costs $19.95 per month or $148 per year, with no additional fees, including tips, which are built into the membership price.
Walmart will fill the new roles by promoting its own associates from within, building on a track record that saw more than 300,000 associates promoted to roles of more responsibility and higher pay in fiscal year 2021. “This new role is yet another example of how technology is enabling us to offer new career opportunities that just didn’t exist a few years ago,” said Julie Murphy, executive vice president and chief people officer for Walmart U.S., in a statement.
Related: Walmart Launches Drone Delivery Hubs; Walmart Tests Autonomous Vehicle Delivery.