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Walmart tests driverless cars for online grocery pickup

Waymo autonomous vehicles take customers to and from store

Russell Redman

July 26, 2018

2 Min Read
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Walmart plans to pilot an online grocery service with self-driving cars that pick up customers at their homes and take them to the store to collect their orders.

Tom Ward, vice president of digital operations for Walmart U.S., said in a blog post yesterday that Walmart will test the service with Waymo — formerly Google’s self-driving car project — in Chandler, Ariz.

“While giving customers a unique experience with amazing technology, we’re learning how we can make Walmart online grocery pickup even more convenient,” Ward wrote in the blog. “Waymo’s experience, industry-leading technology and mission on safety is helping us enter this space in the right way.”

Waymo_vehicle_0.pngThe service works as follows: Customers participating in the pilot order their groceries at Walmart.com/grocery, choose online grocery pickup and select a pickup time. Personal shoppers gather the items ordered based on the designated pickup times. The Waymo vehicle then picks up customers, brings them to the selected store to get their groceries, and then drives them home.

“We’re always thinking of ways we can serve our customers now and into the future,” Ward said.

A subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet Inc., Waymo said the service is part of its “Early Riders” project of 400 users of self-driven cars. Launched in April 2017, the riders program aims to assess how self-driving vehicle technology fits into people’s daily lives, including shopping and other errands.

Users have safely self-driven more than 8 million miles across 25 U.S. cities, and Waymo’s fleet of autonomous vehicles drives over 24,000 miles a day, according to the company.

“Later this week, Walmart and Waymo will launch a test pilot that gives early riders savings on groceries each week when they are ordered on Walmart.com,” Waymo said in a blog post yesterday. “While orders are being prepared at the store, Waymo vehicles will transport the rider to and from Walmart to collect their groceries.”

Waymo said it also is teaming up with AutoNation, Avis, DDR Corp. and Element Hotel to provide self-driving car service to customers doing business with those companies.

DDR, for example, will offer rides in Waymo self-driving vehicles to shoppers and diners who want to go to Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center in Chandler. The service will allow riders to “avoid the stress of parking lots,” Waymo said.

Last September, Walmart unveiled a partnership in which it would work with Google to create new shopping experiences for customers. The alliance began with the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant offering hundreds of thousands of items for voice shopping via Google Assistant.

SNS-Logo-Color_20copy_1.pngLearn more about grocery delivery at the inaugural SN Summit, held Oct. 1-3 in Dallas, the only conference where food retailers and restaurateurs learn from each other.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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