NEW YORK (AP) – Walmart is counting on the help of robots to keep up with the increase in online orders.
The company said on Wednesday that it plans to build warehouses in its stores where autonomous robots will pick up groceries and get them ready for customers to pick up in an hour or less.
Walmart declined to say how many warehouses it will build, but construction began in stores in Lewisville, Texas; Plano, Texas; American Fork, Utah; and Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart’s corporate offices are located. A test site opened more than a year ago in a store in Salem, New Hampshire.
Walmart expects deposits to speed up collections on the sidewalk, where orders are taken out to customers’ cars. The option, along with deliveries, has become increasingly popular as buyers tired of viruses avoid entering stores. At the beginning of the pandemic last year, Walmart said delivery and collection sales grew 300%.
The company said the robots will not roam the store aisles. Instead, they will stay inside warehouses built in separate areas, inside or near a store. The windows will be placed in some locations so that customers can watch the robots work.
The wheeled robots carry crates of apple juice, cereals and other small goods for Walmart employees, who pack them for buyers. Rival Amazon uses similar technology in its warehouses, with robots carrying books, vitamins and other small items for workers to pack and ship.
Walmart said the robots save time, as employees don’t have to walk the aisles of stores to find items. Workers, however, will have to enter the store to buy fresh groceries, such as meat, fish and vegetables. They will also have to pick up TVs, vacuum cleaners and other large items that are too big for the robots to carry.
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