This Self-Driving Grocery Store Takes Meals on Wheels to the Next Level

This spring shoppers will be able to experience the ultimate level of convenience, having a grocery store brought right to their front door.

Stop and Shop announced Wednesday that they’re planning to launch futuristic “driverless grocery stores” in the Boston area.

The Quincy-based supermarket chain has partnered with mobile market startup Robomart, which operates a fleet of electric, remotely piloted vehicles that will carry around a select inventory of Stop and Shop items.

Customers can order a remote-operated Robomart vehicle to their door through a smart-phone app, much like Uber. Once it arrives, they will be able to pick out their own produce, meal kits, and convenience items from the pre-stocked shelves inside the vehicle.

The payment process is entirely digital as well. Technology within the vehicle automatically records what a customer has selected and sends a record of payment to the customer via their smartphone.

According to Ali Ahmed, the founder and CEO of Robomart, the inspiration behind this seemingly futuristic service is something that has existed for years.

“For decades, consumers had the convenience of their local greengrocer and milkman coming door to door, and we believe that by leveraging driverless technology we can recreate that level of convenience and accessibility,” said Ahmed.

The self-driven automated vehicle will also be restocked periodically with Stop & Shop goods, to ensure that consumers are receiving produce that is just as fresh as the items they would find at a brick-and-motor grocery store.

“We also recognize that many of our customers want the opportunity to make their own choices when it comes to fresh produce, and we’re proud to be the first retailer to engage with Robomart to address our customers’ needs with their cutting-edge solution,” said Mark McGowan, President of Stop and Shop.

Robomart is different from the average grocery delivery service, because it brings the store to customers, giving them the option to pick specific food items for themselves, which many customers value and don’t get through pre-ordered services online.

If the Robomart start-up proves to be a success, the service will likely expand beyond groceries, “It opens up the scope to not only supermarket retailers but to a lot of other companies that might be interested in reaching consumers directly,” said Ahmed.

In the meantime, we will have to wait and see if the food retail industry proves this service to be a business that reshapes the relationships between consumers and technology.