Washington, January 27: Walmart is planning to take the help of robots to keep up with a surge in online orders, according to a Reuters report. In a statement from the company, it said that there are plans to build warehouses at its stores where self-driving robots will fetch groceries and have them ready for shoppers to pick up in an hour or less.

Without revealing many details on the number of warehouses it plans to build, Walmart said that construction has started at stores in Lewisville, Texas; Plano, Texas; American Fork, Utah and Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart Tests Drone Delivery to Take On Amazon.

At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, Walmart said that delivery and pickup sales grew 300 percent. With the help of robots in the warehouses, Walmart is hopeful that it will speed up curbside pickups, where orders are brought outside to shoppers’ cars. Both these options became extremely popular during the pandemic when people hesitated to go inside the shop.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2021 11:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).