Walmart In-Home Delivery: The Pros and Cons So You Can Decide If It’s For You
Can you imagine a world where you shop for your groceries online and the store actually brings them to your home and puts them in your refrigerator…even when you’re not home? Crazy, right? Well, thanks to Walmart’s InHome Delivery Service, which they rolled out this week in select cities, it’s definitely the future. Here’s exactly how Walmart In-Home Delivery works so you can decide if it’s something you might like to try.
What Exactly is Walmart’s InHome Delivery?
Forget about doorstep delivery, how about refrigerator delivery?
That’s exactly what Walmart InHome Delivery does.
You shop via the Walmart website, select InHome Delivery at checkout, as well as your delivery date/time, and Walmart takes care of the rest.
By “takes care of the rest” I mean that an employee will hand pick your grocery list, bag it up, and have it delivered to your home and have the items needing refrigeration put away in your fridge for you.
What Does It Cost?
You will pay $19.95/month for InHome Delivery. But…the first month comes free so you can test it out.
As long as your order totals at least $30 you can order as many times as you want each month.
Also, you’ll need to pay a 1-time cost of $49.95 for the “Smart Lock” which you’ll put on your front door to allow access.
The Smart Lock come with free installation as well.
See Also: 4 Ways to Score Walmart Free Samples
Where Is InHome Delivery Currently Available?
As of this writing, the delivery service is only available in these 3 cities:
- Kansas City
- Pittsburgh
- Vero Beach, FL
More cities will be added soon and I’ll keep this page updated when they go live.
Pros of Walmart InHome Delivery?
1 – Vetted Employee – Walmart doesn’t send just any employee inside your home, they only send a trusted employee who has worked for Walmart for at least 1-year. They claim to run 4 different background checks on InHome Delivery employees.
2 – Convenience – If you’re elderly, handicapped, or recovering from an illness, it doesn’t get more convenient than this service.
3 – Reasonable Cost – Depending on how far you live from a Walmart location, the $19.95/month could easily make up for the cost of gas driving to and from.
4 – Easy on the Environment – InHome Delivery doesn’t leave you with any boxes or plastic bags that you have to deal with.
5 – Peace of Mind – The Walmart employee who enters your home actually has a camera on them allowing you to view the entire process from your smartphone.
6 – Insured Transaction – Walmart covers your home for up to $1 million against any damages that may occur.
7 – Flexibility – Not only do you pick the day that works best for you, but you can also opt for garage refrigerator delivery if you don’t want people going in your home.
See Also: Start Earning Money with Walmart Receipts with LITTLE Effort
Cons of Walmart InHome Delivery?
1 – Loss of Privacy – Any time a stranger comes into your home, no matter how vetted they may be, it will give some folks the hebbie-jeebies.
2 – Pets – If you have pets loose in the house this service probably won’t work for you.
3 – Can’t Squeeze the Melons – You’re at the mercy of Walmart “pickers” when it comes to picking the ripest fruits and veggies.
4 – Can’t See Expiration Dates – Hard to grab the gallon of milk with the “furthest out” expiration date when someone else is picking out your groceries.
5 – Hard to Price Compare – How often have you been shopping in-store and opted for the generic because it was going to save you a $1.50? It’s difficult to quickly do a price comparison when shopping the Walmart website, thus you may end up spending more in the long-run if you use this service regularly.
6. Takes Planning – You have to be fairly organized to make home delivery work for you since you can’t add items to your order (unless they total $30+) once it’s placed and in the Walmart system.
Ask the Reader: What say you? Would you be comfortable using Walmart InHome Delivery?
By Kyle James
Photo credits to Walmart.
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
