US supermarket begins tests of driverless grocery delivery

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US supermarket operator Kroger Co. said it will start testing driverless grocery delivery on Thursday with technology partner Nuro at a single Fry's Food Store in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Kroger and rival Walmart Inc. each have teamed up with autonomous vehicle companies in a bid to lower the high-cost of "last-mile" deliveries to customer doorsteps, as online retailer Amazon.com rolls out free Whole Foods delivery for subscribers to its Prime perks program.

"Kroger wants to bring more customers the convenience of affordable grocery delivery," said Kroger Chief Digital Officer Yael Cosset, who added that the test will also gauge consumer demand for the service.

The undated image provided by Kroger Co. shows an autonomous vehicle called the R1. Kroger will begin testing grocery deliveries using driverless cars outside of Phoenix, Arizona, US. /AP Photo

The first phase of the test will use a fleet of Toyota Prius cars equipped with Nuro technology. Those cars have seats for humans who can override autonomous systems in the event of an error or emergency. Nuro's R1 driverless delivery van, which has no seats, will begin testing this autumn, the companies said.

"While we compete final certification and testing of the R1, the Prius will be delivering groceries and helping us improve the overall service," a Nuro spokeswoman said.

Under the self-driving service, shoppers can order same-day or next-day delivery online or on a mobile app for a flat rate of about six US dollars. After the order is placed, a driverless vehicle will deliver the groceries curbside, requiring customers to be present to fetch them. The vehicles will probably be opened with a numeric code.

Nuro's R1 driverless delivery van is seen packed with grocery bags. /AP Photo

Walmart and Alphabet's self-driving car company Waymo are partnering to test a service that shuttles Phoenix shoppers to stores to collect online grocery orders.

(Top image: A self-driving Nuro vehicle parks outside a Fry's supermarket owned by Kroger Co. as part of a pilot program for grocery deliveries, Scottsdale, Arizona, US, Aug.16, 2018. /AP Photo)

Source(s): AP ,Reuters