Basic Motors is entering into the enterprise of grocery retailer carts, however not the standard type with that one squeaky, wobbly wheel.

GM’s BrightDrop unit has signed Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery store chain, to be the primary buyer for its new temperature-controlled Hint Grocery “eCart” for on-line order achievement beginning later this yr.

BrightDrop, which GM shaped in 2021 to make electrical supply vans, performed a pilot with Kroger in Kentucky, the place it stated the grocery store skilled “a noticeable enchancment within the buyer and affiliate expertise.”

“COVID has pushed a dramatic enhance in on-line grocery procuring, and fulfilling these orders profitably has grow to be a significant problem for retailers of all sizes. With the Hint Grocery, we noticed a chance to assist corporations like Kroger deal with these challenges head on,” BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz stated in a press release. “As on-line procuring continues to develop, BrightDrop is dedicated to growing modern options to assist our prospects hold tempo. The Hint Grocery is an ideal instance of this.”

The unit, constructed on BrightDrop’s Hint platform for last-mile supply, permits workers to place objects straight into its 9 compartments and park it on the curb exterior for patrons to entry their order. It digitally verifies a buyer’s id, so an worker doesn’t must be concerned within the pickup course of.

BrightDrop says the Hint Grocery retains objects at food-safe temperatures for as much as 4 hours, has an electrical motor that strikes the unit at as much as 3 mph to match an operator’s strolling velocity, can maintain as much as 350 kilos of groceries and is weatherproof. It plans to deploy the unit on a bigger scale in 2024.