Smart lock maker August launches in-home delivery service August Access in US, in partnership with last mile logistics firm Deliv, after testing it with Walmart
Context & Ripple Effects
August has been building toward this for over a year: the Silicon Valley pilot with Walmart let the retailer test package and grocery drop-offs through its smart locks, and back in 2016 Amazon was reportedly in talks to use August and Garageio for in-home package delivery. Today's launch converts that pilot into a named product, August Access, with last-mile firm Deliv as the operating partner.
The launch also lands mid-race: Walmart is simultaneously scaling conventional grocery delivery to 100 cities using contract workers from partners like Uber, and by 2019 it will push further into the home with InHome refrigerator deliveries. Whoever controls the front door is becoming the gatekeeper for all of these models.
First-order effects
- Deliv gains a differentiated last-mile offering — couriers can complete unattended drop-offs inside the home rather than at the doorstep — while August moves up the stack from hardware maker to access-service provider.
Second-order effects
- Walmart now has two parallel paths into the home — contract-worker delivery at scale and lock-based in-home access — putting pressure on Amazon, which explored the same August partnership, to formalize its own in-home entry play or cede the doorstep-plus-interior model.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, smart lock makers become access infrastructure licensed to multiple retailers and couriers, shifting competition from device sales to who earns consumer trust — and liability — for letting strangers open the front door.
The trend: Retailers and couriers are converging on in-home delivery as the next fulfillment frontier, with smart-lock platforms like August positioned as the trust layer that decides whose couriers get inside.