Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently announced its ‘Amazon Key’ service which would allow delivery personnel to gain access to a customer’s home in order to safely deliver a package, as opposed to leaving it outside when someone isn’t home.
Users can purchase Amazon Key and they will receive a cloud camera as well as a smart lock. When the delivery associate would come by and make the delivery and find no one home, they would press an unlock button in an app, and once Amazon verifies the delivery person and the package are at the right location, it would then proceed to unlock the smart lock.
Associates would be prevented from resuming their deliveries until the home is locked again.
This wouldn’t have to be limited to Amazon deliveries either, as customers would be able to setup passcodes so that anyone that has the passcode would be able to enter the home.
The cloud camera would allow customers to remotely watch the delivery and other entries into the home as they are taking place.
Amazon Key is an interesting idea and would certainly alleviate the risk involved with leaving a package outside. The service is rolling out in 37 U.S. cities in early November.
The service could give Amazon an advantage over other delivery services as it seems all too often that videos on YouTube appear of people taking packages that are left outside of someone’s door. The big question for consumers would be is if that risk would outweigh the risk of having a delivery person gain access to their home.
