“Our online grocery service is already a huge hit with customers, allowing them to quickly and conveniently order groceries online, select a pickup time and have those groceries delivered to their car in minutes,” said Mark Ibbotson, Walmart U.S. executive vice president of central operations. “Alphabot will work behind the scenes to make the process even easier, by automatically bringing items from storage to associates, who will consolidate the items in the order. For our pickup associates, that means less time walking the store aisles in search of products, and more time ensuring customers are getting the absolute best in fresh produce, meats, et cetera."

The Alphabot system, developed especially for Walmart, is being installed at the store in Salem, N.H., as a part of the grand reopening. A 20,000-square-foot extension connected to the store houses the new system and will serve as a dedicated grocery pickup point with drive-thru lanes. Automated mobile carts will retrieve the ordered items — warehouse-style in this new space — and then deliver them to workers at any of four stations. Walmart says it plans to have Alphabot operating by the end of the year.

“Although this is a small pilot, we expect big things from it,” Ibbotson said. “We have a lot to learn about this new technology, and we’re excited about the possibilities of how we can use it to make the future of shopping — and working — even better."