Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is expanding its in-garage grocery delivery service, Key by Amazon, to more than 5,000 U.S. cities and towns. The service was launched in November in five cities.
“Customers who tried Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery have loved the service, which is why we’re expanding it to everywhere Amazon offers grocery delivery,” said Pete Gerstberger, head of Key by Amazon. “As customers look for more convenience in their daily lives, we’re excited to deliver another service that not only helps them save time but provides peace of mind knowing that tonight’s dinner is safe in their garage and out of the weather.”
Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery is available where Amazon offers grocery delivery at no additional cost to Prime members, the company said. Customers must have a myQ connected smart garage door opener to participate. Amazon added that customers can view deliveries through a Ring smart home camera and a Ring Protect Plan or with a LiftMaster Smart Garage Camera powered by myQ with a myQ video storage subscription.
Customers simply need to select Key Delivery at checkout to complete their orders.
“We’ve worked hard to bring the convenience of grocery delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market to even more Prime members, now reaching customers in more than 5,000 cities and towns,” said Stephenie Landry, vice president of grocery at Amazon. “I’m thrilled to offer customers Key In-Garage Grocery Delivery and believe this expansion illustrates our commitment to continually innovate to make the experience of ordering groceries online even better for customers.”
Amazon has offered in-garage delivery of items since 2019, expanding that service to more than 4,000 U.S. cities and towns in November.
Online grocery shopping is becoming a hotly contested service with both Amazon and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) battling for supremacy even as other retailers ramp up services. According to Karen Bomber, Honeywell’s head of retail insights, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders across the country caused a spike in online grocery ordering in 2020. Bomber, speaking during the National Retail Federation’s Chapter One conference earlier this year, said online grocery orders jumped from 4% of sales in 2019 to 30% in 2020.
It is a trend she doesn’t see diminishing moving forward, and while many of those orders are in-store pickups, a good portion remains home delivery.
Walmart first offered grocery delivery service in 2018. This year it is running a pilot with HomeValet, which will place a temperature-controlled Smart Box outside the home. The Walmart delivery driver will place the grocery delivery inside the Smart Box.
“When we launched our grocery delivery service in 2018, we did it for one reason – our customers wanted it,” Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer product for Walmart U.S., wrote in a blog posting Tuesday announcing the pilot. “Since then, it’s been a lifesaver for busy families. They can simply shop their local store from anywhere and schedule a time to have it delivered right to their front door. It’s incredibly convenient.”
By the second quarter of 2020, Walmart held a 30.4% share of the online food and beverage retail transactions market, ahead of Amazon’s 27.1%, according to the TABS Analytics 8th Annual Food and Beverage Consumables Study.
Click for more Modern Shipper articles by Brian Straight.
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