Amazon In-Garage Delivery Expands To 4,000 US Cities, Adds Groceries

Amazon is greatly expanding its in-garage delivery option, the company announced on Thursday. The service first launched in only 50 cities; this new expansion will make it available in more than 4,000 cities in the United States. As well, Amazon says it will now also deliver groceries in the garage for eligible Prime members.

In-garage deliveries are available under the Key by Amazon program. Assuming you're an eligible Prime member, you can get the in-garage delivery on packages ordered from Amazon, as well as for groceries ordered through Amazon Fresh or from Whole Foods.

This expansion brings the service to big cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and more, as well as 'thousands of surrounding cities,' according to Amazon. This expansion effectively makes the service available to tens of millions of people, the company says.

Customers will need a myQ smart garage door opener to use this service; the app is linked with Key by Amazon, after which point customers can choose in-garage delivery when they checkout. The delivery driver deposits the packages in the garage, then closes the door, securing the packages away from the public.

The obvious benefit of this program is that package theft is a growing problem, one that isn't easy to solve. Hiding packages on porches doesn't work terribly well and porch package lockers can still be stolen. Thieves will have a hard time getting access to boxes locked in a garage, however.

As for the grocery delivery service, Amazon is launching that initially in five cities: Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas.