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Walmart in-home delivery system outsmarts robots

SN Executive Editor Mike Browne on the high- and low-tech options in supermarket delivery

Michael Browne, Executive Editor

June 20, 2019

2 Min Read
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Walmart

mike headSince flying drones first took off in the last decade, tech companies, retailers and venture capitalists alike have been exploring their delivery potential.

Grocery delivery by drone may be a ways off due to weight and size restrictions. For now, the focus is on smaller, lighter cargo and some companies are making headway with food and package delivery.

Uber announced a pilot program with McDonald’s last month to deliver food by drone to landing zones where couriers will pick up the order and deliver it to customers’ doors.

Meanwhile, Amazon recently launched the latest version of its Prime Air delivery drone. It’s capable of vertical takeoff and landing as well as sustained forward flight.

Amazon’s goal for the finished Prime Air service is to create “fully electric drones that can fly up to 15 miles and deliver packages under five pounds to customers in less than 30 minutes.” 

Back on Earth, unmanned delivery is taking shape with self-driving car tests in Arizona and Texas with Kroger and Silicon Valley startup Nuro. And, Amazon’s cooler-shaped sidewalk robots have begun rolling around the streets of Seattle. Of course, there are limits to any unmanned delivery — one of which is that it’s only unmanned up until a certain point. When the self-driving car or robot on wheels pulls up to a customer’s home, that’s as far as the delivery gets.

Related:Walmart brings grocery delivery inside shoppers’ homes

Enter Walmart, with its new InHome Delivery. No, it’s not a drone or robot, it’s a good, old-fashioned delivery person. But thanks to smart-home technology, groceries can be brought right into customers’ homes, unpacked and put away in the kitchen.

All of these delivery innovations can’t help but make me wonder what might be next.

Teleportation, maybe? Beam me up, Scotty.

 

Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

 

 

About the Author

Michael Browne

Executive Editor, Supermarket News

Michael Browne joined Supermarket News in 2018 after serving in managing and executive editor capacities at leading B2B media brands including Convenience Store NewsLicense Global and Travel Agent. He also previously served as content production manager for print and digital in the Business Intelligence division of Informa, parent company of Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News.

As executive editor, Mike oversees the editorial content of supermarketnews.com as well as the monthly print publication. He also directs all content-based brand-related projects including the annual Top 75 Retailers report, Category Guide, Retailer of the Year, research surveys and special reports, as well as podcast and webinar content. Mike has also presented and moderated at industry events.

In addition to the positions mentioned above, Mike has also worked as a writer and/or editor for special projects at American Legal Media (ALM), managing editor for Tobacco International, special projects editor at American Banker • Bond Buyer, and as production editor for Bank Technology News and other related financial magazines and journals published by Faulkner & Gray.

A graduate of Fordham University, Mike is based in New York City, where he was born and raised.

Contact Mike at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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