Walmart News: Retailer Looks To Autonomous Vehicles For Grocery Delivery

Walmart (WMT) has kicked its customer delivery service up a notch by partnering with autonomous vehicle company, Gatik. Together, the companies will provide self-driving car deliveries in Arkansas, where Walmart's headquarters is located.

With the passing of legislation in the state to allow for autonomous vehicle operation, Walmart has capitalized on the idea and moved the technology right into its grocery delivery service. The pilot program will operate within a two-mile route in Bentonville, Arkansas, between two of Walmart’s stores in the area, the company said.

“We aim to learn more about the logistics of adding autonomous vehicles into our online grocery ecosystem, operation process changes and more opportunities to incorporate this emerging technology,” the company said on its blog.

“We’re always out to help our customers, and that means helping them save time and money. So, we’re using our position of strength to reinvent the shopping experience to take us, and busy families, well into the future,” the company added.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the self-driving vehicle will move between a Walmart grocery pickup store and a Walmart Neighborhood Market location. The autonomous vehicle will be scheduled to operate 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week with five to nine trips planned per day, the news outlet said.

Shares of Walmart stock were down 0.07 percent as of 11:40 a.m. ET on Tuesday.