Posted on 07/29/2019 3:23:16 AM PDT by gattaca
At the warehouses, robots will help humans pack about 600 grocery items per hour
Kroger is teaming up with British online grocer Ocado Group to build as many as 20 automated grocery warehouses to help grocery retailer accelerate its e-commerce operation.
The move coincides with a surge of consumer interest in online shopping. While only a small percentage of consumers currently do their grocery shopping online, interest in doing so is poised to grow over the next few years.
Under its partnership with Ocado, Kroger is building fulfillment centers across the U.S. where robots will help human workers pack roughly 600 items per hour. The packing process will take into account the need for specific ordering in grocery bags to ensure, for example, that workers don’t accidentally break a fragile product like a carton of eggs.
"We are actively creating a seamless digital experience for our customers,” Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our partnership with Ocado will speed up our efforts to redefine the food and grocery customer experience – creating value for customers and shareholders alike."
Increasing e-commerce initiatives Amazon and Walmart have also been accelerating their efforts to stay ahead of changing consumer preferences related to online grocery shopping. Walmart is testing driverless cars for grocery delivery, and Amazon recently unveiled new warehouse robots.
Earlier this year, Kroger announced that it had started working with electric vehicle startup Nuro to launch driverless grocery deliveries as a way of competing with Amazon.
"We are incredibly excited about the potential of our innovative partnership with Nuro to bring the future of grocery delivery to customers today," Yael Cosset, Kroger's chief digital officer, said in a statement.
Kroger's first automated warehouse with digital and robotic capabilities is being constructed in Monroe, Ohio. The next two sites have been selected in the Central Florida and Mid-Atlantic regions. The grocery chain says it intends to open up to 20 of the automated warehouses over the next five years.
I dunno. The only reason to go to Kroger and pay 50 to 100% more than you would at Wal Mart is convenience and location. If you are going to have it delivered, just use Wal Mart.
On what basis does writer of article think interest in online grocery shopping is poised to grow?
I grew up in a bit of a time warp.
We had delivered groceries, butcher, baker as well as the local department stores, Grandmother had buyers who sent in possibilities for us to try on, use, evaluate, buy.
Our groceries came from the only store in town that delivered, and our produce was excellent and everything was marked up at leas 25%
One day my father took our delivery grocery list and replicated it at a local stop and shop and on the whole the bill was almost 50% less.
So it was about the cost of shopping at Whole Foods today rather than one’s local mid price suburban store.
It worked for my grandmother, a self imposed shut-in. I am not sure it will work in a sociatial wide fashion, for one needs to have help at home to receive groceries.
Of course we are marching to an elite and a slave class with not much in the middle.
Sears asked that question 10 years ago.
Currently, only 1% of grocery sales are online. That will grow to over 50% in the next 5-10 years.
You don't think Amazon bought Whole Foods for vanity?
Shopping malls are dead, despite their past reputation for being social places to meet and hang-out.
The world changes as the market desires. Online purchasing frees up time for other things....even leisure.
I see a shopping mall very differently than how I see food stores. A well stocked food store is a treat to walk, at least for foodies.
I do not know how old you are. I am 53. I tend to agree that the shopping experience for groceries is enjoyable for me.
But I look at the younger generation and the fact that they grew up in this online age. They do not see driving or owning a car the way we do...they do not see cooking and families the way we do....they view the world differently.
Everybody said clothes shopping would never go online because people need to try on the clothes and feel the fabric.....well, those people were wrong.
I think grocery stores will shrink down as online grows. People will need to run out and get things they forgot....but that will be the exception....especially if they can deliver what you need in minutes, which is the plan.
Kroger? WalMart?
I shop at an independent grocery. It is owned by a local family. It makes WalMart grocery shopping look stupid. WalMart is totally brain dead when it comes to food products.
The local grocer, has in house meat department. Fresh cut daily. Produce department is way better than WalMart (15 miles away) And WalMart tried a mini store to compete with the local guy. They did not last a year. Now an East Texas grocery chain reopened the WalMart mini store. If it were not for through traffic off a major highway, they would have closed too.
Then there is the HEB grocery chain (nearest is 60 miles). They play the cross border (MX) wedge strategy. They are the most successful Grocery chain in Texas. My daughter and niece both live on the East Coast (near DC). They constantly moan about not being able to shop a good grocery store. I have to ship my daughter Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce and canned mushrooms.
Point? WalMart does not have a clue or the ability to compete with well run grocery outlets.
On what basis does writer of article think interest in online grocery shopping is poised to grow?
...
One big reason is that the cost and quality of the service will keep improving. It’s a time saver. It’s another reason people won’t need an expensive car. More people will try it once their friends and coworkers are using it.
“On what basis does writer of article think interest in online grocery shopping is poised to grow?”
I do my shopping on Sunday morning. While roaming around H.E.B. I noticed that there are more people picking groceries for either delivery or customer pickup than there are actual shoppers. I don’t see this trend reversing itself.
Plus, the costs should go down for supermarkets in that they will no longer have to maintain 10 shopping centers where one fulfillment center will suffice. Biggest problem here is the kids who work at these facilities. They will lose valuable lessons about working and growing up.
Just another way to destroy our youth in the name of progress.
>>>On what basis does writer of article think interest in online grocery shopping is poised to grow?
When I go to the grocery store, it seems half of the other shoppers are in green Shipt shirts, doing the shopping for someone else. Three years ago, that model didn’t even exist.
WalMart does not have a clue or the ability to compete with well run grocery outlets.
...
I wonder what Walmart’s grocery revenue is?
Walmart revenue, profit jump as online grocery sales provide boost
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/16/walmart-earnings/3690858002/
I’ve read Walmart’s online prices are higher than their in store prices.
We only have two grocers, HEB and Walmart. HEB is cheaper than Walmart but heard they also go with higher online prices. Walmart has much better goods but is 4 towns away. The local HEB gets what their other stores refuse to accept like old produce, soon to expire goods and broken or damaged cases and their shelf bread is delivered frozen. Moo has no clue about food deserts.
My Aunties had so many deliveries, they had a special entrance in their house for them. Laundry, milk, butcher, florist, grocer, department stores, mail, and many others, and what’s more, the garbage man came to empty the pit outside the door, they didn’t need a trash man because their yard man would burn everything in their incinerator. They had a kitchen girl, an upstairs girl, and a yard man that hung out in the basement. They were not rich, they were middle class, frugal, and pooling their incomes. They retired like queens.
That was back before inflation, taxes, and welfare. It’s the way we used to live.
Oh Goodness forgot about the incinerator.
The mailman used to deliver to the kitchen and get a cup of coffee and something tasty to eat.
I might be forced to have groceries delivered when I get old and can’t shop myself. As it is, it wears me out now but I’d rather choose my own tomatoes than have some stranger or robot decide which ones I should have.
Those home delivered cook-it-yourself meals in a box trend are ridiculous, imo, and won’t last long. Not when you can have already prepared meals delivered or groceries delivered if you’re not inclined to cook or shop yourself.
Just for personal research (aka satisfaction) I used one of Hello Fresh’s recipes but with my own self purchased groceries. It was 3 ground beef tacos with marinated carrots and zucchini and a lime crema. Their meal included 3 tacos per person. Their best per person meal plan cost with shipping is $8.75. Following their recipe, my cost was $1.20 (not counting the trip gas to purchase a heaping cart of food) for 3 tacos + 2 extra homemade flour tortillas per plate (Hello Fresh didn’t allow for extra tortillas or butter). At the end, I had some veggies left over so those went into a meatloaf the next night. Sorry, online stores, for a savings of $7.55 per meal, I’ll continue to go that extra step and do my own grocery shopping.
We didn’t have garbage pick up until about 20 years ago. We’re on the phone every week complaining about them not picking up. Once a week pick up is about $13/wk. but it’s way more than that when they don’t come and we’re still billed. I’d rather go back to burning it in the back pit.
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