Amazon Closes Car Trunk Delivery Service

Amazon won’t be going forward with reactivating its package delivery service to the trunks of customer cars anymore, according to CNBC.

The service, which was called Key In-Car Delivery, was rolled out in 2018 for some Prime members as an extension of the Amazon Key services, which allowed delivery drivers to leave packages in garages, homes and businesses.

These services aimed to protect packages from the rain, damage and theft, although many raised concerns about the safety of giving a stranger access to one’s personal residence or vehicle, even in a limited sense.

Now, the company has said that as of Thursday (Oct. 28), the program will not be returning from its March 2020 pause.

“While our plan was to reactivate In-Car Delivery as soon as we could, it will remain suspended indefinitely,” the email stated. “We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for being a loyal Amazon customer.”

Instead, the company will focus more on in-garage delivery and adding other Key services. The report adds that Amazon’s notice recommended an in-garage delivery trial to Prime users, offering them $30 off their first delivery and a Chamberlain myQ smart garage controller which allows Amazon to operate a user’s garage door for deliveries.

PYMNTS writes that Amazon recently got some good news in its Q3 earnings report, which showed that 87% of respondents were ready to shop online for the holidays.

Read more: Holiday Shopping Outlook Suggests ‘Amazon Christmas’ May Be Underway

That was a 10% jump from last year, rising even despite brick-and-mortar stores reopened after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Younger consumers were reportedly more likely to spend more online, with 31% of Gen Z and 28% of millennials saying they were ready to spend more on gifts this year.

Amazon has a large share of that market, with almost 50% of the eCommerce market and more than 9% of consumers’ overall retail spend. Walmart is the closest rival, PYMNTS writes.