Walmart announced on Wednesday that its Chandler, Arizona location will soon offer self-driving cars which will transport customers to and from the store.
When a customer purchases groceries online, a Waymo self-driving car will be sent to take him or her to the Chandler location. A Walmart employee will then bring the customer’s groceries to the car, which will take the customer back to his or her home.
Vice President of e-commerce operations, Tom Ward, stated:
“The purpose of all of this: to learn. While giving customers a unique experience with amazing technology, we’re learning how we can make Walmart online grocery pickup even more convenient.”
The partnership also demonstrates Google and Walmart’s continued efforts to take down Amazon.
Walmart did not comment on the length of the trial, but it will certainly be limited; only 400 consumers will be able to use the self-driving cars.
Other companies have adopted self-driving cars from Waymo, as well. A shopping center in Phoenix is set to start using Waymo to transport customers between stores, and a Phoenix AutoNation currently allows customers waiting for their cars to ride around in a Waymo van.
Walmart’s stock fell roughly 0.66 percent on Wednesday, likely because Waymo is not affecting their company too much. The fact that the cars are offered at only one location doesn’t yet provide much substance. If the Waymo trial succeeds, however, a quid pro quo relationship between Google and Walmart could be on the horizon.
Featured Image via Flickr/zombieite
