Waitrose is piloting a delivery service which will allow drivers to let themselves into customers’ homes while they are out and put their groceries away.
The trial, which is in conjunction with Yale, uses smart lock technology, which allows customers to set an access code for their door, which is deleted when a delivery is complete.
The pilot, which starts later this month, will be small scale and tested on 100 homes in south London. Customers will set their own smart lock code, which will then be sent to Waitrose via a secure app. The code will be sent on to the driver at the delivery time and deleted after the delivery has been made.
Drivers will wear body cameras and customers can view the footage the next working day, should they want to.
The scheme could help to increase profits by cutting down on missed deliveries, due to customers not being at home, which drive up the cost of home delivery.
Waitrose head of business development said the grocer wanted to make shopping “even more convenient to fit around [customers’] busy lifestyles”.
He added: “The concept of ‘in-home delivery’ has started to prove popular in other countries so we are keen to establish if there is an appetite for it in the UK.”
Amazon began offering US Prime members its Amazon Key service, which allows couriers to enter customers’ homes, in late 2017.
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