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Walmart Inc. said Tuesday that it is testing grocery delivery technology with HomeValet, a company that makes a “smart box” that is temperature controlled and outfitted with a UV-C light that it says aids in disinfecting.
The test will take place this spring. Participating Bentonville, Ark. customers will be able to take advantage of contactless grocery deliveries in the “smart box” placed outside their door.
When it’s time to make a delivery, the box communicates with the delivery provider and gives them secure access to the box to make the delivery.
“For Walmart, it presents an opportunity to deliver items 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” wrote Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer product at Walmart U.S., in a post on the Walmart blog.
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“While we don’t have plans to do 24/7 delivery today, it certainly has a nice ring to it. “
Grocery retailers have been testing various ways to deliver groceries in a way that’s convenient and will preserve the freshness of produce, dairy products and other grocery items.
In 2019, Walmart introduced grocery delivery in a customer’s refrigerator, while rival Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.16% also launched in-home delivery.
Walmart announced on Monday that it will be launching a financial technology company with investment firm Ribbit Capital.
Walmart stock has rallied 28.4% over the last year while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.04% is up 7.6% for the period.
