On Tuesday, US supermarket chain Kroger Co. said that it had started using autonomous vehicles to deliver groceries in Scottsdale, Arizona, in partnership with Silicon Valley start-up Nuro.
The delivery service follows a pilot programme started by the companies in Scottsdale in August of this year, involving Nuro's R1 – a custom unmanned vehicle.
The R1 uses public roads, has no driver, and is only used to transport goods.
Stiff Competition
Kroger's deal with Nuro underscores the stiff competition in the US grocery delivery market, with supermarket chains angling for a bigger share of consumer spending.
Peers Walmart, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. have also invested heavily in their delivery operations by expanding their offerings and shortening delivery times.
Last month, Walmart, Ford Motor Co. and delivery service Postmates, Inc. said that they would collaborate to deliver groceries and other goods to Walmart customers and could someday use autonomous vehicles.
Kroger said that the service would be available in Scottsdale at its Fry's Food Stores unit for $5.95, with no minimum order requirement for same-day or next-day deliveries.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
