Autonomous vehicles have largely been
aimed at replacing taxis but they can also be used for a variety of other
purposes. With that in mind, Kroger and Nuro have joined forces for an
autonomous grocery delivery pilot program.
Set to kick off this fall, the pilot
program will be launched in a soon to be announced market. There’s no word on
which city will be selected but the service will allow Kroger shoppers to place
an order through the company’s ClickList ordering system. Employees will then
collect the customer’s order and place it in one of Nuro’s autonomous delivery
vehicles.
The vehicle will then drive itself to
the customer’s home so they can retrieve their groceries from one of the car’s
two compartments. In order to do this, customers will be sent an access code to
open the vehicle’s door when it arrives in their driveway. Once the groceries
are unloaded, the vehicle will drive to its next stop or return to the store.
Kroger’s is America’s largest
supermarket retailer as it has 2,800 stores in 35 different states. If the
pilot program is successful, it wouldn’t be surprising if the autonomous
delivery service was expanded to additional markets.
Kroger hinted at this possibility as it
noted “Nuro’s technology platform will change the status quo of grocery
delivery through convenience at a low price.” The service will also help Kroger
fend off competitors such as Amazon’s Prime Pantry which ships groceries
directly to customers.
