American retailer Kroger is testing an autonomous grocery delivery service in Houston in association with the robotics company Nuro.
Marlene Stewart, Kroger's Houston division president, said, "We're excited to launch our autonomous vehicle delivery pilot with Nuro in Houston, a leading city that embraces innovation and technology."
In August of last year, the retailer first tested its self-driving fleet in Scottsdale in Arizona.
"Nuro's initial application of transporting goods through self-driving technology has allowed us to build a real service and have an immediate impact on communities," said Nuro co-founder, Dave Ferguson.
"We are excited to introduce Houston to our time-saving service that provides customers with their groceries quickly and safely."
The Service
Presently, the service is available in the South Post Oak store, and will be extended to the Buffalo Speedway store later in the spring.
Customers have the option to shop through Kroger.com or the Kroger app, and place their orders based on the availability of slots.
The orders can be scheduled for same-day or next-day delivery provided by Nuro's manual and self-driving vehicles.
The service is offered at a flat fee of $5.95, with no cap on minimum order value.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
