Walmart is one of the most recognized retail names in the world, but are you willing to give it unlimited access to your home? The retail giant is pairing up with a smart lock startup called August Home to test out a new service to customers in Silicon Valley. First a customer places their grocery order on Walmart’s website. Then a driver for the startup Deliv will pick up the order when it’s ready and drive it to your home. Here’s where the trust issues take over. That person will then be given a one-time use password for the August Home keyless lock to enter and put your groceries away. Customers will be notified when the person is about to enter their home with a phone notification and you can watch them the entire time through the august home surveillance system. Once the person leaves and the door is locked the customer will receive another notification on their phone. Walmart says while a novel concept now, this could be standard in the next few years, so why not cross something off your to do list?
About Brian
CBS News Radio national business journalist Brian Banmiller has spent more than 40 years in the news industry, covering business, politics and the economy on television, radio and in print. Currently, his “Banmiller on Business” reports are delivered to an audience of millions nationwide.
