Amazon Trials In-Home Delivery For Customers With Smart Homes

Giving your key to your partner is usually a big step on one’s relationship. Are you ready to take that next step with Amazon? Two smart home companies, August and Garageio, are working with Amazon to enable actual “in-home” deliveries.

How would this process work? Users would be able to select in-home delivery and give the mail courier a one-time access code to their August-locked door or Garageio-controlled garage. The courier would then access the key through the Amazon app.

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Many argue that there are both pros and cons to this kind of system. Companies would no longer need to use extra packaging to protect products from the elements. This could potentially lead to lower costs for both companies and consumers. In-home deliveries could also possible encourage more people to invest in smart-home technology. Many people, however, are creeped-out by the idea of someone they do not know having access to their home.

Amazon is continually looking for ways to up its delivery game. This past July, Amazon Prime Air started testing delivery drones in the United Kingdom. The company was granted permission to fly drones beyond the line of sight, test sensors on the drones to see if they can avoid obstacles on their own, and test to see if one person could potentially control several drones at once. The FAA strictly prohibits flying drones out of the line of sight of operation which is why Amazon Prime Air went to the UK.

Amazon Prime Air Drone

The company has also looked for ways to make ordering products more convenient. This past March it expanded the number of Dash buttons, which allows users to reorder household products with the push of a button. Some of the latest brands include Energizer, Trojan, Snuggle, Red Bull, Lysol, Nature Valley and Charmin. Dash has become so convenient and popular with customers that orders using the buttons occur at a rate of just over one per minute.