Towards the end of 2017, Amazon launched its Key delivery service, which used a combination of connected cameras and smart locks so delivery people could drop off packages inside your house while you’re away. A few months after the debut, a survey showed that people weren’t really into the idea (understandably) of letting randos into their abodes.
Perhaps looking for an acceptable middle ground, Amazon today announced it has partnered with garage door opener company, Chamberlain Group, to enable secure delivery of packages inside your garage. Amazon actually made a bunch of announcements around Key including a Wi-Fi-enabled deadbolt from Schlage, expanded capacities for the Ring video doorbell to lock/unlock doors and Key for Business. But it’s the garage access that caught our eye.
Amazon’s like water and has been looking for any opening it can find to deliver you more packages. In addition to Key, Amazon also debuted a delivery-to-your-trunk service (in select cars) last year. If Amazon can get inside your dwellings, it would help you avoid package theft… and ideally get you to order more stuff. And though the company doesn’t mention groceries specifically, it’s not hard to see how in garage deliveries could help expand delivery of perishable foods so they don’t sit on your front porch, and give Amazon an edge in the cutthroat world of grocery delivery.
Going through the garage could be a viable option for Key to get some traction. People skittish about a stranger in their home might be less so about their garage. Garages aren’t always connected to houses, and if they are, there is generally a locked door that separates it from the rest of the house. There could be enough of a buffer for customers to try it out.
Of course, if they can’t get in-home delivery through your trunk, your front door or your garage, then they could always just build an entire house around you for delivery.
