Volvo aims to make holiday shopping easier, starting with Black Friday, by eliminating the frantic search for parking spaces and large crowds of shoppers. (That is, assuming Black Friday is even a thing in Sweden.) The company recently launched a new in-car delivery service in its home town of Gothenburg, Sweden.
The new in-car delivery service partners with leading Nordic suppliers and stores, PostNord, Lekmer.com and Mat.se, to deliver toys, baby products and groceries directly to your Volvo. Unfortunately, Ikea isn't participating, so you'll still have to endure the torturous maze for furniture shopping.
Only select 2012 and newer cars with a subscription to Volvo On Call services in Gothenburg, the second largest city in the country, can take advantage of this new delivery method. The service relies on the Volvo On Call telematics service that lets users lock and unlock their cars from a smartphone app.
When you order a product from a participating retailer and choose the in-car delivery service, the deliverer receives a temporary key from Volvo that lets them access the car and load up your purchased goods. The digital key expires after one use, and a text message is sent to you after the delivery is complete.
In Volvo's theoretical situation, you drive off after receiving the delivery. In reality, leaving your order in the car in a parking area during the holidays isn't a smart idea in theft-prone areas.
While I'll give props to Volvo for trying creative, niche ways to receive orders during the holidays, I'm not sure how this is useful or any different than just ordering something online for delivery to your house or workplace.
I'd honestly feel more comfortable leaving a package at my front door than my car, especially during the holidays. If someone steals the package from your front door, it's gone – that's it.
The same can't be said about something being stolen from your car, which can end with shattered glass getting all over the place. Then again, America (or even the UK) is about the last place you'd see a promotion like this.
