Kroger is experimenting with ways to lower the cost of grocery delivery by automating different labor- and cost-intensive aspects of the service, from picking and packing orders to dropping them at homes. Just last month, it struck a deal with British online grocer Ocado to build highly automated warehouses.
Kroger Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen told Reuters that the non-exclusive partnership with Nuro, announced ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, will help shape the grocer's strategy for giving shoppers at its 2,800 stores in 35 states "anything, anytime and anywhere."