SCOTTSDALE, Arizona: At a time when big-box retailers are trying to offer the same conveniences as their online competitors, the biggest US grocery chain is testing the use of driverless cars to deliver groceries in a Phoenix suburb.
Kroger’s pilot programme launched Aug 16 morning with a robotic vehicle parked outside one of its own Fry’s supermarkets in Scottsdale. A store clerk loaded the back seat with full grocery bags. A man was in the driver’s seat and another was in the front passenger seat with a laptop. Both were there to monitor the car’s performance.