Kroger Rolls Out Unmanned Vehicles For Grocery Delivery

In an effort to tackle grocery delivery, Kroger announced that it has begun to use autonomous vehicles in Arizona. The offering comes on the heels of an experimental program by the grocer and California startup Nuro, Reuters reported.

The grocer along with Nuro had been using a fleet of Prius cars with operators. The company said that those cars have made almost 1,000 deliveries. But the fleet is now growing with unmanned vehicles called the R1. Those vehicles, according to the company, don’t have passengers or drivers and only deliver goods. The concept has been in development with Nuro since 2016.

In the announcement of the offering, Kroger Chief Digital Officer Yael Cosset said, “Kroger customers are looking for new, convenient ways to feed their families and purchase the products they need quickly through services like pickup and delivery. Our autonomous delivery pilot with Nuro over the past few months continues to prove the benefit of the flexible and reliable technology.”

The news comes as Kroger, in an effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs for shoppers across the country, rolled out the Rx Savings Club. The program, which was developed in partnership with GoodRx, adds to the retailer’s Wellness Your Way platform.

With the club offering, shoppers can receive discounts on medications that are commonly prescribed for widespread conditions in the U.S. such as diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, heart health and asthma, among others. In all, the program provides up to 85 percent savings on thousands of prescriptions. Some of the free medications offered in the program include Glucophage for diabetes and Norvasc for high blood pressure.

Kroger President of Pharmacy Colleen Lindholz said, “Kroger operates nearly 2,200 pharmacies, serving millions of customers across America. Our new partnership with GoodRx provides cost savings for our customers in a simple, practical way, and enables us to live our Kroger Health vision of helping people lead healthier lives.”