Walmart and Nuro have teamed up to bring autonomous grocery deliveries to Houston households.
The pilot program—a “natural extension” of Walmart’s Grocery Pickup and Delivery service (which includes direct-to-fridge drop-off)—is initially open only to select customers who have opted in.
The firms plan to expand the option to the general public “later in 2020.”
“Our unparalleled size and scale have allowed us to steer grocery delivery to the front doors of millions of families—and design a roadmap for the future of the industry,” Tom Ward, Walmart’s senior vice president of digital operations, said in a statement.
Boasting more than 50,000 personal shoppers, the retail giant has grown its online grocery footprint to nearly 3,100 pickup locations, with deliveries coming from 1,600-plus stores.
“Along the way,” Ward continued, “we’ve been test-driving a number of different options for getting groceries from our stores to our customers’ front doors through self-driving technology.”
One of Nuro’s neighborhood-friendly, self-driving electric vehicles (via Nuro)
The service will use Nuro’s custom-built R2 delivery vehicle—which carries only products, no driver or passengers—and autonomous Toyota Priuses, all powered by Nuro’s self-driving software and hardware.
No further details have been revealed; it remains unclear exactly where (“Houston”), when (“in the coming weeks”), and to how many people the program will extend.
“Walmart’s dedication to its customers aligns with our desire to help people save time and money while making shopping easier,” according to Cosimo Leipold, Nuro’s head of partner relations.
“Working alongside Walmart gives us an incredible opportunity to improve our door-to-door operations, serve Walmart’s loyal customers, and continue to integrate and engage with the Houston community,” he added.
Nuro launched early last year—the brainchild of two former Google employees—and has already inked deals with Kroger and Domino’s to transport groceries and pizza to customers’ doors… er, driveways.
More on Geek.com:
- Walmart Launches Direct-To-Fridge Grocery Drop-Off in Four Cities
- Walmart Launches Voice-Enabled Grocery Shopping with Google Assistant
- Stop & Shop Piloting ‘Self-Driving Grocery Stores’ for Customers
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