Everyone has heard of self-driving cars, but have you heard about a self-driving grocery store? Robomart is just that, the world’s first self-driving grocery store. Groceries are soon to be a $1 trillion business worldwide, and perishables like fresh produce make up around 60% of all groceries sold. However, according to Kantar Worldpanel, just a small fraction of that (less than 5%) has moved online. This is because having people pick and deliver groceries is expensive for retailers and because consumers don't trust someone else picking produce for them. (I know I don’t!) So, Robomart is building a fleet of on-demand, self-driving stores that they will license to retailers to power the most affordable on-demand delivery services across the world.

So you’re probably wondering how this will work. Once launched, it will be easier than going to the grocery store. Consumers will simply tap a button to request the closest Robomart to come to their location. They will be launching their app to do this on smartphones, to make it even easier for consumers. Once Robomart arrives, they will head outside, unlock the door, and shop for the products they want. When they’re done shopping, they just close the doors and send it on its way. Robomart tracks what customers have taken using "grab and go" checkout free technology and will then charge them and send a receipt. This grab and go checkout process is similar to Amazon’s Whole Foods cashier-less grocery stores.

Robomart built their first prototype in California last year and have started work on fully functional Robomarts which they aim to deploy in commercial pilots soon. They have also partnered with the leading wireless EV charging station provider and will offer their wireless charging stations to Robomart. Retailers will soon be able to sponsor these pilots and test their autonomous store proposition with their customers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You might be thinking, why is this needed? Well, Robomart conducted extensive research and surveyed women between 26-44 years old in the US and found that more than 85% of them do not shop for fruits and vegetables online because they felt that home delivery is too expensive and that they wanted to pick their own produce. Almost 65% said they would order a Robomart more than once a week. And that’s not even counting people who were not surveyed, including men.

There are also lots of benefits for grocery retailers who decide to partner with Robomart:

• Consumer data sent from Robomart will give retailers detailed insight into sales and consumption patterns. (So they can sell more products that people want)

• On-demand delivery that is more than 5x cheaper on a per order basis

• Retailers can expand their store footprint at low cost with no initial capital expenditure

• Direct to consumer channel allows retailers to retain ownership & control of their customer

You could be seeing Robomart on the streets very soon! The company is currently awaiting its Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit from the California DMV but expects to have it soon and plans to launch a pilot program in the CA Bay Area this summer. Would you order from Robomart? I know I would.

 

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