Dive Brief:

• Walmart has linked up with myQ to expand the retailer’s InHome delivery service, which brings grocery orders to consumers’ refrigerators, garages or front steps, according to a press release on Thursday.
• Through the partnership, Walmart workers will use the firm’s “smart garage technology” to gain one-time access to consumers’ garages and drop off deliveries. Workers will sanitize any surfaces they touch and can pick up product returns.
• The partnership will help Walmart expand its InHome service and boost the security features of in-garage delivery, the announcement noted. 

Dive Insight:

As Walmart expands its InHome delivery program, the myQ partnership will help the retailer expand the in-garage option for shoppers who don’t want workers entering their home but are also uncomfortable with the idea of having packages left on their doorstep.

MyQ said one in five households is equipped with its smart garage door opener technology — offering Walmart an opportunity to reach millions more shoppers with its InHome service. MyQ’s device is compatible with LiftMaster and Chamberlain smart garage door openers and can be integrated into “other leading brands of garage door openers.”

For shoppers that don’t have myQ technology integrated into their garage-door openers, Walmart offers a free upgrade when they sign up for Walmart+.

MyQ provides alerts to homeowners if the garage door was left open and also lets homeowners share access to their garages through a “guest access” in-app feature.

Since launching in select cities in late 2019, Walmart’s InHome service has quickly scaled as the retailer builds out its variety of grocery fulfillment options. At the start of this year, Walmart announced plans to expand the InHome service from 6 million U.S. households to 30 million by the end of 2022. Earlier this summer, Walmart rolled InHome into its Walmart+ membership and also noted that the service now reaches several new cities, including Miami, Dallas and San Francisco.

Walmart+ members can try InHome for free and then, after the trial ends, pay an additional fee to continue using the delivery service.

“[O]ver the last few years, we've discovered our in-garage delivery option is a popular choice among members," Whitney Pegden, vice president and general manager of InHome, said in the myQ announcement. 

Walmart’s expansion of InHome comes at a time when Amazon is also scaling its in-garage grocery delivery service across markets serviced by Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market.