BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart is starting 2021 off right, recently announcing it has a new grocery innovation on the way. Partnering with HomeValet, the retailer plans to launch a new grocery delivery pilot. Starting this spring, shoppers in Walmart’s home base of Bentonville, Arkansas, will be able to receive groceries directly into a temperature-controlled HomeValet-powered smart box.

According to a blog post written by Tom Ward, Walmart’s Senior Vice President of Customer Product, this pilot gives customers the ability to receive secure and contactless grocery delivery with the assurance that their groceries will stay fresh.

“As our founder, Sam Walton, once said, ‘To succeed, stay out in front of change.’ It’s why we’re continuously testing new technology, like drones and autonomous vehicles, to find new ways to serve customers,” Ward remarked in the post. “Which made us think—what if we could conveniently deliver fresh groceries to a customer’s front door any time of the day, whether they’re home or not? That’s what we’ll be exploring in our new pilot with HomeValet.”

The blog post went on to discuss just how HomeValet’s smart box works. It’s powered by an internet of things (IoT) platform that has three temperature-controlled zones, so it can properly store frozen, refrigerated, and pantry items. When it’s time for a delivery to be made, the smart box communicates with the delivery provider’s device, giving them secure access to the smart box to complete the delivery.

As Walmart continues to up its investment into grocery delivery, this latest partnership allows the retailer to potentially look into the possibility of delivering items 24/7. Although not on the table yet, we have a sneaky feeling Walmart is already looking into it.

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Walmart