With in-car delivery, Amazon takes smart shopping to the next level

All along its successful journey, a strategy that helped Amazon (AMZN) keep ahead of others in the increasingly competitive retail world is innovation. A week after Walmart (WMT) introduced mobile checkout at select stores — a facility Amazon successfully tested in its Seattle store — the latter has come up with something unique.

After having incorporated almost every technology into its digital platform, the mega-retailer is at it again — this time offering customers the convenience of having merchandise delivered in their cars. The new facility can be availed through the recently launched Amazon Key app.

The in-car delivery facility has been launched in 37 cities for premium subscribers who register the details of their vehicles with the company. An encrypted authorization process will ensure that the right packets are delivered to the right customers.

Customers need to choose the ‘in-car’ option on the Key app while making purchases and ensure their vehicles are parked within the range of the app. It is expected that the additional delivery options being made available by the company would lure more shoppers to its stores in the coming days.

An encrypted authorization process will ensure that the right packets are delivered to the right customers

For Amazon, offering the best possible shopping experience to people is of prime importance. While ensuring delivery of packets in a secured spot like the customer’s car trunk conveniently and speedily, the new facility also saves Amazon employees from the tedious job of taking back items if the customer is not at home.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt some customers would turn skeptical about the security of the system, which requires them to allow delivery personnel to access their vehicles remotely. Moreover, it would be a cumbersome task to have disputes settled in the event of any mix-up during the procedure.

It is learned that a similar initiative by the retail giant last year, an offer to make deliveries by accessing customers’ homes through an encrypted unlocking system, received a lackluster response. Obviously, only customers who have a high level of trust in the company would have utilized that facility. Maybe, shoppers can take a cue from the reputation Amazon has earned for ensuring near-foolproof security at the various levels of its retail transactions.