🥬 Walmart’s direct-to-fridge delivery

Oat milk restocked while you’re at yoga… Walmart is doubling down on its “InHome” delivery option, which lets shoppers hire deliverers to drop perishables directly into their refrigerators while they’re out. Camera-wearing associates will even trek back for returns (wrong brand of almond butter). Walmart first launched direct-to-fridge in 2019, and has 6M customers in cities like Atlanta and DC. Last year it unveiled an outdoor "smart cooler" to keep groceries cold on your doorstep. Now…

• Walmart aims to expand the service to 30M customers by the end of 2022, with plans to hire 3K employees to grow InHome in cities like LA and Chicago.
• Premium price: InHome delivery costs $20/month or $148 a year, while Walmart’s regular doorstep drops cost $8 to $10/month.

Frozen-pizza delivery… Walmart wants the whole pie. For years, it has scaled its grocery biz with options like click-and-collect (order online, pick up curbside). Last year, Walmart sold over $250B in groceries, making it the world's largest grocer. Its delivery services now reach 70% of the US. But it has seen increasingly fierce competition from Amazon, Instacart, DoorDash, and Grubhub as shoppers doubled down on delivery during the pandemic. None of those rivals, though, have made the direct-to-fridge plunge.

Siri and Alexa’s favorite conference… This week, tech companies (cautiously) headed to the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas to show off their latest gadgets. This year’s event happened IRL after going virtual in 2021, but major players like Amazon, Google, and Meta opted to attend virtually because of Omicron. Some of the headliners:

• Smarter wheels: GM introduced its first hands-free-driving system, and Daimler showed off a Mercedes EV with a record-breaking 648-mile range. Amazon and Google launched new operating systems for your car’s dash. John Deere showed off its first self-driving tractor, and Sony plugged plans to make its own EVs that feature PlayStation games.

• Smarter wearables: Apple Watch has company. Movano demoed a ring that monitors heart rate and oxygen levels. Vivoo showed off a system that monitors nutrient levels through urine samples. Withings’ WiFi-connected scale measures heart rhythm and nerve activity, and Mojo Visions’ display-connected AR contacts could help athletes track their performance.

• Smarter houses: Kohler introduced a $3K voice-controlled tub so that you can fill your bath while making pasta, Samsung rolled out a TV remote that recharges wirelessly with sunlight or WiFi waves, and Amazon released tools designed to let Alexa control smart devices made by rivals like Google and Apple (#hijacked).

• Testing: Kroger and Walmart hiked prices on scarce at-home Covid tests (from $14 for a two-pack to $25). Both fulfilled pledges to offer Abbott Labs’ kits “at cost” (read: no profit) for 100 days, which have now passed.
• Unsport: Brands including Nike, Adidas, and Puma are losing sales in China amid a government-fueled consumer boycott of Western sportswear companies over their stance on forced labor.
• Delay: Verizon and AT&T reached a truce with the FAA to delay the launch of their 5G wireless services until January 19, giving the FAA more time to address concerns that 5G signals could interfere with air traffic.
• Seasold: US-listed Chinese stocks continued slipping after Chinese gaming giant Tencent sold $3B worth of its stake in internet company Singapore's Sea, as China continues its tech crackdown.
• Awk: Shares of Amazon-backed electric-truck maker Rivian fell 11% after Chrysler owner Stellantis announced it’ll make electric delivery vans for Amazon, while the ’Zon will integrate its software in Stellantis’ car dashboards.

• Weekly jobless claims
• Earnings expected from: Constellation Brands, Walgreens, Conagra, Lamb Weston, Helen of Troy, WD-40, and Bed Bath & Beyond

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: AT&T, Walmart, Google, Apple, Amazon, and GM

ID: 1977624