Walmart wants to use AI to restock your fridge automatically
Walmart's AI-based grocery replenishment for InHome delivery service announced at CES.
FREDERIC J. BROWN / Getty Images
- Walmart is starting to use AI to figure out how often you order groceries and order them for delivery.
- The service will soon be part of Walmart's InHome delivery, according to its presentation at CES.
- It's the newest addition to Walmart's range of delivery options.
Walmart might soon know when you need groceries before you do — and send someone to put them in your fridge.
The retailer plans to start offering AI-aided replenishment through its InHome delivery service, executives said Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The goal is to automatically add groceries, like milk, to customer's online orders using a schedule based on what they consume and how quickly they consume it.
"It learns a customer's purchase patterns to determine the perfect cadence to restock their essentials," Whitney Pegden, vice president and general manager of Walmart InHome, said of the feature in a presentation.
The service will be distinct from Walmart's existing replenishment option. Walmart customers can set up deliveries of essentials at regular intervals, a service the big box chain started offering last year.
Customers will be able to change what is placed in their virtual cart if they're planning to be away from home, Pegden said.
AI replenishment is Walmart's latest addition to its delivery offerings. The company started offering InHome delivery in 2019. The service costs $19.95 a month, or $138 if customers pay for a full year at once, according to Walmart's website.
Walmart also works with thousands of independent contractors for its Spark delivery service.
The contractors deliver a variety of goods, from groceries to electronics, to Walmart customers. Spark's gig delivery workers aren't allowed to enter customers' homes, a point of confusion for Walmart customers who think Spark contractors make InHome deliveries.
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