Walmart will start testing a grocery delivery program that involves a smart cooler at a customer's home.

The news comes as consumers are increasingly demanding a safer, contactless approach to shopping and delivery in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Walmart approach follows in the wake of Amazon's delivery option that involved items being delivered to customers' car trunks and even in-home to refrigerators and freezers. Walmart also delivers to customer doors and inside refrigerators in some areas of the country.

The Walmart smart cooler test will start this spring, with the pilot program taking place in Bentonville, Arkansas. The retailer will give customers a temperature controlled cooler which Walmart has called HomeValet, which is set outside the home.

"The prospect of this technology is intriguing, both for customers and for Walmart's last mile delivery efforts," Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer product at Walmart U.S., said in a post on the retailer's website. "For customers, they don't need to plan their day around when their grocery delivery will be made. For Walmart, it presents an opportunity to deliver items 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Walmart debuted grocery delivery service in 2018 and a year later launched its InHome membership grocery service in select areas.

The HomeValet has three zones that can hold groceries at different temperatures: frozen, refrigerated and room temperature, and users can track delivery from an app.

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