Stranger In The Kitchen: Walmart To Deliver Inside Homes

How much do you trust a stranger with your fridge?

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Walmart is now offering to have one of its employees deliver fresh groceries and put them in your refrigerator when you’re not home.

The nation’s largest grocer said that it will be offering the service this fall for more than one million customers in three cities: Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Missouri, and Vero Beach, Florida. Later this year, the service, called InHome Delivery, will also accept returns for items purchased on Walmart.com.

The new service, announced Friday ahead of Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is part of the company’s drive to expand its shopping options that include curbside pickup and online grocery delivery and cater to time-starved shoppers.

And it comes as the world’s largest retailer is locked in an arms race with online leader Amazon.com to bring packages faster and faster to customers’ homes. Amazon offers a similar service in certain cities, dropping off packages inside homes, garages or car trunks. But its service does not deliver groceries.