fresh food will include grocery essentials such as
canned pears and peanut butter.
The last mile from a transportation hub to
someone’s home has been the key logistical
hurdle for delivery services.
“Now, we can serve customers not in just
the last mile, but in the last 15 feet,” wrote
Marc Lore, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce
division, in a corporate blog post.
Still, while analysts applauded the idea of
in-home delivery, they noted challenges.
“What remains unclear for us is how much
could this cost to roll-out at scale, how much
demand will there ultimately be, and how
much are consumers willing to pay for the
service,” wrote Moody’s vice president
Charles O’Shea in a report. “We remain
concerned that companies may end up
overspending in their development of
various delivery options by overestimating
the potential demand, though that is a
‘down-the-road’ issue.”
Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy
officer of Publicis Communications, noted
that even with the body cameras, many
customers may not trust a stranger into
their home. That worry could ease over
time, he said.
“Getting in a strangers’ car didn’t feel all
that safe at first either, yet rideshare
companies were able to get enough initial
customers and then expand through
customers’ changing perceptions,” said
Goldberg. “In-home delivery is likely to follow
a similar trajectory.”