Walmart testing 'mobile vending robot' by Tortoise
Walmart taps robotics startup to test mobile parking lot vending machines to win back in-store impulse buy
Tortoise initially pitched its remote-controlled robots as an ultrafast-delivery solution.
It's now using its robots as mobile vending machines at conferences and stadiums.
Walmart is testing the "15-second commerce" at a store near its headquarters.
The tech startup Tortoise initially pitched its remote-controlled robots as an ultrafast delivery solution to companies like Instacart. But with the collapse of several ultrafast-grocery players, Tortoise has shifted its focus and is using its "floating" robotic warehouses as mobile vending machines.
Tortoise's first large-scale national retailer partnership is with Walmart. In late July, the retailer began using a Tortoise robot to sell beef jerky and Kinder chocolate eggs to shoppers waiting for curbside-pickup orders in the parking lot.
The Tortoise robots work like automated vending machines that can drive to a shopper's vehicle. Once shoppers tap and pay with a credit card, the lid opens so they can grab their item. Dmitry Shevelenko, Tortoise's cofounder and president, said retailers like Walmart were hoping to recapture sales of nonessential grocery items that consumers toss in their baskets when they shop in store.
"They're bleeding revenue because you make fewer impulse buys when you're buying online," Shevelenko, a former Facebook and Uber executive, said.
Walmart said it's piloting the Tortoise robot at "store 100" near its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters "to see if customers enjoy a mobile vending experience."
"We are only focused on this particular use case at this time," a company spokesperson told Insider.
Walmart, which recently cut its profit outlook for fiscal year 2023 amid excess inventory and inflation issues, has been dabbling with automation and robotics for a couple of years to boost its e-commerce business.
It has invested heavily in self-driving cars and is testing drone delivery from six US stores in Arkansas and North Carolina. It plans to have more than 30 drone-delivery sites in five additional states — Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Utah — by the end of the year.
Tortoise is betting on '15-second commerce'
Tortoise, headquartered in Mountain View, California, has raised $8 million from investors, including Rosecliff Ventures and Food Retail Ventures.
Walmart is Tortoise's largest retail partner to trial the mobile vending robots. The company is also working with some of the country's most prominent food-service vendors: Sodexo, Compass Group, and Aramark.
The companies are deploying Tortoise's robots at sporting venues and conferences, giving attendees a fast and frictionless way to buy snacks and beverages.
"We have 40 robots operating on a weekly basis throughout the country," Shevelenko told Insider.
At the Comic-Con International convention held last month in San Diego, a Tortoise robot was hawking burritos for $13.50 and Gatorade for $5. Each robot has two temperature-controlled compartments, allowing Tortoise to sell hot and cold items. Tortoise takes a 10% cut of sales.
"Our north star is 15-second commerce," he said. "You get what you want and go."
The company, founded in 2019, was previously focused on last-mile delivery. The tech will debut with 18 retail partners, like Colorado grocer Choice Market and Los Angeles-based chocolatier Lady Chocolatt, all going live within the next quarter, Tortoise president and co-founder Dmitry Shevelenko told Retail Brew.
The vending machines address retailers’ “existential need for growth”—which has been difficult to fulfill lately due to labor shortages—by offering new sales channels, Shevelenko said.
The mobile stores aren’t selling staples like SunChips and Diet Coke, but rather retailers’ premium SKUs like a $35 pastry box, or even a $300 pair of headphones, Shevelenko said. And from any which place: parked in front of stores, down the block, or at the local park.
Tortoise manages the machines through a “remote store clerk” that monitors any “unpredictable” behavior.
There’s a Bluetooth locking mechanism, plus branded wrapping to display the products inside and customizable audio to guide shoppers through checkout.
Tortoise started testing the tech at the end of last year (which only took one modification to its delivery setup—adding an NFC reader to enable contactless payment) after noticing consumers often assumed they could buy something from its robots fulfilling deliveries, Shevelenko said.
The mobile stores garnered 25x a typical vending machine’s hourly earnings, per Tortoise, with Asian-American bakery Bake Sum generating $100/hour in sales by placing it outside the shop for three hours after closing and bringing it to local parks.
The company doesn’t charge for the software or hardware, but keeps 10% of gross sales, Shevelenko noted, so it can be beneficial particularly for small businesses.
“[Small merchants] need incremental sales,” he said. “This is a marketing engine; it attracts that foot traffic and monetizes it better for them. So we certainly see this as being something that enables local businesses to thrive and hire more employees.”—EC
