Kroger Pilots Driverless Deliveries

The supermarket chain uses a robotic vehicle to bring groceries from the store to a customer’s curb.

August 20, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Kroger has started testing driverless deliveries at a Fry’s store in Scottsdale, Ariz., ABC News reports. A robotic vehicle drives the groceries from the store to a customer’s house, and the customer is required to unload the order curbside. During the test, a driver is present in the Toyota Prius vehicles.

The self-driving service will cost around $6 per order, with shoppers placing orders for same-day or next-day delivery online or via a mobile app. Customers likely will access their groceries from the driverless vehicles with a code.

This fall, Kroger will remove the human “driver” and continue testing with unmanned autonomous vehicles. The company is working with Nuro on the driverless vehicles. “Our goal is to save people time, while operating safely and learning how we can further improve the experience,” said Dave Ferguson, co-founder of Nuro.

This isn’t the only innovation Kroger is working on. Earlier this month, the company launched a delivery service called Kroger Ship in four cities. And Kroger recently announced its partnership with Alibaba to sell groceries online in China.

Walmart also is testing self-driving vehicles in Arizona. The discount retailer has teamed up with DDR Corp. and Waymo on a pilot program that takes shoppers in self-driving minivans to pick up online orders at Walmart locations in Phoenix.

The “Solving the C-store Delivery Conundrum” education session at the NACS Show in Las Vegas features Kevin Coupe of MorningNewsBeat.com and a panel of retailers who will share with attendees how they have made delivery work for them.

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