Waitrose is piloting a new ‘While You’re Away’ in-home delivery service which enables drivers to enter customers’ homes to deliver groceries and put them away.
The trial will take place in London later this month and will see drivers use smart lock technology to access houses. Participating customers will set a temporary access code for their smart lock which will be sent to Waitrose & Partners via a secure app. The code will be forwarded to the driver at the scheduled delivery time and deleted after the delivery has been made.
Drivers will also be fitted with body-worn camera technology from Edesix to record their exact movements when they enter a customer’s property. Customers will be able to view the video the next working day, if they wish.
The supermarket has also partnered with CitySprint spin-off On the Dot to offer two-hour and same-day deliveries as part of a new trial.
Archie Mason, Waitrose head of business development, said: “There is an increasing demand among customers to make shopping even more convenient to fit around their busy lifestyles. The concept of ‘in-home delivery’ has started to prove popular in other countries so we are keen to establish if there is an appetite for it in the UK.
“The fact that the movements of all delivery drivers will be recorded by Edesix Body Worn Cameras will give customers complete peace of mind.”
