The Next Step: Driverless Supermarkets That Come to You

For a couple of years, we have been talking about driverless vehicles, and before that, we talked about how certain cities such as Detroit and Miami have had entrepreneurs convert buses and trucks into mobile supermarkets. But now, Stop & Shop is planning to have self-driving supermarkets that go directly to shoppers.

All you have to do is request a stop via an app and wait on the sidewalk. The chain is beginning its test of the idea this spring in Boston, and if successful, it will roll out to other cities where they operate. There's no word yet how or if the company's Peapod division will be involved, or what if any additional cost to the shopper might be.

Obviously, vehicles won’t carry Stop & Shop’s full assortment of more than 50,000 SKUs, but they will carry an assortment of produce, meal kits and convenience items, letting shoppers select what they want. 

The vehicles’ grab-and-go technology, similar to what we have seen in Amazon Go, automatically records products selected, charges them and emails a receipt. 

One of the biggest complaints from online food shoppers is the quality of the produce that the “picker” selects, and that a shopper is stuck with. This mobile store solves that problem, allowing the customer to select their produce and other items themselves. It also eliminates other concerns of online shopping: having a stranger come to your home, and having to wait around for a delivery in a two-hour window.

Related:A New App Targets Food Waste

It’s a smart idea that we applaud, and we hope that it is a success.