BY BRADLEY BERMAN
The days of needing to drive to the store to pick up a whole cartful of groceries are gone. If you live near a major metropolitan area in the United States or a populous suburb, nearly everything you can imagine is available for delivery to your doorstep through mobile apps and e-commerce sites—sometimes in a matter of hours. Even the small, local mom-and-pop shops just down the street are quickly changing.
Among the many hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic was that it forced brick and mortar retailers to radically rethink their approach, accelerating the long-term trends of consumers moving away from in-person shopping. After previously relying heavily on foot traffic and in-store customers, they suddenly needed to figure out how to reach their customers online, safely at home, or socially distanced.
Now, as parts of the world emerge from the pandemic (or at least adjust to a less dire “new normal”), autonomous vehicles are poised to help these retailers rebuild even more sustainable, efficient, and long-lasting businesses with new ways to connect to their customers. “Retailers are shifting capital to change their stores,” says Troy Beeler, cofounder of the Future Commerce Initiative, a consulting firm. “All the effort is going into distribution, getting the inventory close to the consumer in a way that the consumer can either pick it up or you can deliver it to them in the most cost-effective way.”
We’re seeing these changes happen today. Fast food restaurants are experimenting with drive-through-only locations. Weather permitting, entire store facades now slide open to allow circulation. Kiosks are wheeling outside. Customers and delivery contractors pick up orders at the curb or via newly installed takeout windows. Consumers seeking the ability to touch and feel products can still do so, but outside, in more limited quantities, and they are encouraged to look up more inventory on the store’s website. “The idea of super-dense interior spaces is no longer palatable,” says Zachary Colbert, an architecture professor at Carleton University. Now it’s all about open-air courtyards, verandas, pop-up tents, parklets, and pickup zones.
Continue reading… “How Self-Driving Vehicles Fit In Perfectly With the Future of Retail”