
Audio By Carbonatix
Amazon.com has plans to drop off packages directly into shoppers’ homes.
The world’s largest online retailer on Wednesday announced Amazon Key, a lock and camera system that users control remotely to let delivery associates slip goods into their houses. Customers can create temporary passcodes for friends and other services professionals to enter as well.
The move, in the works for more than a year, may help Amazon capture sales from shoppers who could not make it home to receive an order in person, and did not want the package stolen from their doorstep. It also signals Amazon’s ambitions in the growing market for home security devices, where Alphabet Inc’s Nest Labs competes.
“This is not an experiment for us,” said Peter Larsen, Amazon vice president of delivery technology, in an interview. “This is a core part of the Amazon shopping experience from this point forward.”
Members of Amazon’s Prime shopping club can pay $249.99 and up for a cloud-controlled camera and lock that the company offers to install. Delivery associates are told to ring a doorbell or knock when they arrive at someone’s house. If no one greets them, they press ‘unlock’ in a mobile app, and Amazon checks its systems in an instant to make sure the right associate and package are present.
The camera then streams video to the customer who remotely can watch the in-home delivery take place. The associate cannot proceed with other trips until the home is again locked.
It is unclear if such protections will persuade customers that the service is safe to use.
Larsen said theft was “not something that happens in practice,” based on early tests of the Amazon Key program.
He added that if a problem arises, “You can call customer service, file a claim and Amazon will work with you to make sure it’s right,” reimbursing customers in some cases.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Amazon’s biggest retail rival, has similar plans. It said last month it would test delivering grocery items “straight into your fridge” with August Home, a smart lock business that Assa Abloy AB said it will acquire.
Amazon’s new service goes live on Nov. 8 in 37 U.S. locations, the company said. The “Cloud Cam” is also available by itself for purchase, it said.
Latest Stories
-
Ghana Sports Fund administrator urges patience and support for Black Stars after Croatia defeat
4 minutes -
Wesley Girls’ High School launches 190th anniversary celebrations with legacy projects
22 minutes -
NPP questions government’s refurbished locomotives, demands transparency over railway acquisition
1 hour -
GJA calls for dedicated defamation law to protect journalists and clarify media litigation
3 hours -
Powerful individuals using defamation suits to silence journalists – GJA General Secretary
4 hours -
Lack of defamation law leaves journalists vulnerable to intimidation lawsuits – Zakaria Tanko
4 hours -
10 years. One stage. Countless lives transformed
4 hours -
Rising defamation suits are crippling investigative journalism in Ghana — GJA
4 hours -
Adwoa Safo petitions Attorney-General to move shooting case to High Court over jurisdiction concerns
5 hours -
Uganda’s Daily Monitor, NTV forced off air after army chief orders closure
6 hours -
Otumfuo urges pharmacists to uphold standards as Pharmaceutical Society marks 90 years
6 hours -
Ghana’s leading businesses honoured at 3rd Ghana Outstanding Business Achievement Awards
6 hours -
All set for Joe Mettle’s Praise Reloaded 2026 at Accra Sports Stadium
7 hours -
Litina Travel’s Made-in-Ghana World Cup Expo draws hundreds in Boston
9 hours -
A time for everything: A case against mixing spirituality with work performance
9 hours