Amazon Key & In-Home Delivery Are Only The Beginning…

Amazon Key & In-Home Delivery Are Only The Beginning…

Amazon Key & In-Home Delivery Are Only The Beginning...

Amazon’s recent launch of their Amazon Key camera & smart lock system will allow Amazon to bring packages directly into your home… but what’s the endgame? Here’s why more than simply retailers should be worried…

Amazon Key

To put things in context, the Amazon Key seems an imminent response to Walmart’s plan to use August Home’s smart lock system to allow Walmart personnel to deliver groceries directly to your house, even when you’re not home. The key part of Walmart’s plan, however, lies in the fact that they intend to stock your fridge for you. Something the average consumer might be weary about. Considerable worry emerged across social media when the plan was first announced, though seemingly less since Amazon Key became trending today, suggesting some customers are warming-up to the idea. But while Amazon hasn’t announced plans for grocery shipments just yet, Peter Larsen, Amazon’s Vice President of Delivery Technology, recently said to Reuters, “This is not an experiment for us. This is a core part of the Amazon shopping experience from this point forward.” So what exactly are they planning?

“This is not an experiment for us. This is a core part of the Amazon shopping experience from this point forward.” —Peter Larsen, Amazon’s Vice President of Delivery Technology & VP of Amazon Devices

The Tie-In

Moving away from Amazon Key, you may recall hearing about another Amazon project, the eCommerce giant’s first grocery store, Amazon Go. Currently setup in Seattle, the store (video below) allows shoppers to walk in, pick up their groceries, and walk out, while a range of Internet of Things devices carefully track which items are removed. The system then adds them to the customer’s cart via Amazon app and charges their account when they leave. While it’s currently only open to Amazon employees, the system is so precise that Amazon challenged their employees to try to steal anything, which appeared to be impossible… So it looks like this technology is ready for a wider testing group sometime soon. Another big news item that shook up the markets earlier this year was Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods. Now do you smell a connection?


The Prediction

While Amazon hasn’t explicitly noted their intention to stock fridges yet (and that’s a fat YET), this move seems directly poised to counter, or at least match Walmart’s intention to stock your fridge, which would have given Walmart a convenience edge in this race. As customers grow accustomed to this level of delivery service, it wouldn’t be such a stretch to say Amazon’s Prime Air drones could soon be stocking your fridge. What’s more, once these companies get into your home, maybe Amazon’s drones will be helping you try on clothes before a purchase, or open a whole new range of services like walking your dog and straightening up the place like Rosy from the Jetsons. While those things might be a stretch, at least we can agree that Amazon Key looks and acts suspiciously similar to Walmart’s smart lock concept (below).


Final Thoughts

We’ll find out soon enough what plans these eCommerce megaliths have for us. In the mean time, if you’d like some help keeping your edge in the world of eCommerce, shoot us an email today, or click on the red speech bubble in the bottom corner!

Let us know your theories in the comments below!