Today in Retail: Walmart Manages Fully Driverless Deliveries; Lowe’s to Launch Room-Scanning Tool

In today’s top retail news, Walmart’s partnership with autonomous trucking company Gatik has achieved daily deliveries without a safety driver, while Amazon is promoting the use of its payment service on other merchants’ websites ahead of the holidays. Also, Lowe’s is adding a new tool to its app as part of its vision for “spatial commerce,” and improved artificial intelligence (AI) technology is making some executives reconsider chatbots.

Walmart Marks Milestone With Fully Driverless Deliveries

Autonomous trucking company Gatik has been moving customer orders without a safety driver for Walmart on a route in Bentonville, Arkansas, the first such middle-mile delivery anywhere in the world. The deliveries, which move orders from a dark store and a neighborhood market in Walmart’s hometown, involve several repeated runs per day, seven days per week on public roads.

Amazon Offers Deals for Using Payment Service Beyond Its Own Marketplace

Amazon is offering customers deals for using its Amazon Pay service on other merchants’ websites in a bid to capture more of the eCommerce market beyond its proprietary marketplace. Amazon Pay, which was launched in 2007, allows consumers to use their Amazon accounts to pay for purchases on external merchant websites. The company last year also teamed up with Fiserv and ExxonMobil to offer touchless payments using Alexa at more than 11,000 gas stations across the U.S.

Lowe’s to Add Room-Scanning Tool to App

Lowe’s is set to launch a new feature in its app called Measure Your Space, a room scanning, measurement and estimate tool that the home improvement brand says is part of its vision for “spatial commerce.” The tool, which uses LiDAR technology, will initially be available for flooring, which is among the most popular home improvement projects, the retailer said.

Improved AI Gives Chatbots a Second Life in the Digital Ecosystem

Less than five years after many chatbots failed to live up to expectations, improved AI technology is prompting some eCommerce executives to look at platforms such as Messenger and WhatsApp as a way to reach consumers. Walmart, for example, recently acquired technology assets from startup Botmock, and last month said it is currently testing the ability for customers to text the retailer their shopping lists