Walmart’s Testing Refrigerated Boxes for Grocery Deliveries When You’re Not Home

A pilot program is planned for one location in Arkansas.

Courtesy of Walmart
Courtesy of Walmart

Grocery delivery has been an especially big boon since crowd control became of paramount importance and the non-essential among us were urged to stay home last year. But, for those who can’t come to the door at the drop of a hat, the convenience was just slightly less so. Now Walmart is testing refrigerated boxes that’ll help extend the time your groceries are waiting to be unpacked, according to Grocery Dive.

Walmart has tapped retail technology company HomeValet for a pilot program that allows even frozen foods to sit safely until consumers can rehome them in the kitchen. 

“Beginning this spring, participating customers in Bentonville, Arkansas, will be able to receive deliveries from their local Walmart directly into a temperature-controlled HomeValet-powered smart box placed outside their home,” Tom Ward, SVP of Customer Product, Walmart U.S., wrote in a blog post. “This gives customers the ability to receive secure, contactless deliveries with the peace of mind knowing their grocery items will stay fresh.”

HomeValet units also use “ultraviolet-C light to control mold and mildew and disinfect items after they are placed inside it,” according to Grocery Dive. 

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