Walmart plans to hire more than 3,000 associate delivery drivers this year as well as build out a fleet of 100% all-electric delivery vans.

The results speak to the key trends of this year, propelled by coronavirus lockdowns: the speedy grocery boom, and the huge growth in ecommerce. Also notable this year — six of the top 10 are based in Germany.

J.C. Penney is partnering with DoorDash to build out omnichannel capabilities and offer same-day delivery on home products in more than 600 stores and beauty and salon products in select markets, according to a company post.

The fulfillment center — marking the retailer's first in the state — will use AI software, robots and human associates to ship orders to customers. It will house millions of items that will be sent directly to customers as early as the next day, according to a company press release.

The deliveries will take place in Texas, where Waymo is building a nine-acre hub for its autonomous semi-trailer trucks. Starting now and lasting until the end of the year, Waymo and UPS will collaborate on freight hauling between facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. The companies will gather data during the trial process, with an eye on safety and efficiency in particular.

Dent Reality, the UK-based augmented reality startup, announced it’s secured £2.5m (~$3.4m) in funding, something the company plans to use to further its efforts to bring phone-based AR navigation into the retail sector.

These stores, which also serve walk-in customers, act like micro-fulfillment centers, helping Go Grocer fulfill customer orders in minutes. Primarily found in the grocery and CPG verticals, micro-fulfillment uses automated bots to retrieve grocery items from a compact storage center for streamlined picking.

Following an extensive review, Metro Supply Chain selected for its first facility AutoStore, a leading, global cube storage and order fulfillment system powered by warehouse robots that quadruples storage capacity, offers fast access to inventory, and significantly reduces energy consumption.

The 20 facilities will be placed close to regional logistics hubs on several continents. They are all connected on a ‘string’, which means that one company can have stock placed in multiple warehouses across regions or continents while at the same time having one stock overview.

The expansion will also include an automatic storage and retrieval system or ASRS. These systems allow warehouses to more tightly pack goods by limiting floor space dedicated to employees and using technology like robotics to retrieve stored items.

Set to open in 2024, the new facility will rely on a combination of human associates, automation technology, robotics, and machine learning to process grocery perishables and deliver them to nearby stores

The facility will focus on R&D and manufacturing of mobile drive units, which work in fulfillment centers to move products around the floor directly to employees, using artificial intelligence to map their routes.

Walmart’s high-tech grocery distribution center will include game-changing innovations that are radically disrupting the supply chain, getting products onto shelves for our customers even faster.

Sephora has launched a same-day delivery service just ahead of the holiday shopping season, which is set up to deliver purchases within two hours for a fee.

Watch the Kroger Delivery launch trailer and hear from Rodney McMullen, Chairman & CEO of Kroger Co.

The shortage of steel has put pressure on the warehouse automation market, particularly on the market for fixed infrastructure solutions where steel can account for up to 83 percent of the overall cost

The supermarket giant is looking to offer customers more shopping choices and said in June its new ‘super speedy service’ would start at three branches following a trial.