The chain 'is committed to staying on the forefront of change'

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is partnering with Ford Motor Co. on a pilot that might pave the way for a driverless grocery delivery service.

The test program, which also involves San Francisco-based delivery startup Postmates Inc., will explore the performance of self-driving vehicles in the delivery of everyday goods such as groceries, pet food and personal care items.

“We’re still learning — it’s a pilot, but we want to make sure we stay on the cutting edge of grocery delivery by exploring what’s new and next,” Tom Ward, senior vice president for digital operations at Walmart U.S., wrote on the retailer’s website.

The driverless delivery pilot will be tested in South Florida as part of an existing grocery delivery partnership between Postmates and Walmart. Ford vehicles will eventually be mocked up to appear autonomous and simulate the real-world conditions encountered when consumers retrieve perishable items and other merchandise without the help of a human driver.

“Walmart and Ford agree autonomous vehicles have an important role to play as we consider the future of delivery. Before self-driving cars can go mainstream, we must get a better sense of how people want to interact with them,” Ward wrote. “Together, we will gather crucial data to learn the best way to bring items to customers.”

Walmart is expanding its grocery delivery service in the United States, which is expected to be available in 800 stores across 100 metropolitan areas by year’s end and to double in size next year.

Earlier this year, Walmart entered into a test with Waymo, the driverless-car company that was spun out from Google as another Alphabet Inc. subsidiary. That test involved transport of shoppers in a self-driving car to and from a Walmart store in Chandler, Ariz., to collect groceries purchased online.

“There’s no telling what innovation the future will bring, but Walmart is committed to staying on the forefront of change to make getting groceries simple, quick and easy,” Ward said in his blog post.

Kroger Co. entered into a partnership earlier this year with autonomous-vehicle startup Nuro to test the delivery of groceries in unmanned road vehicles that can steer from the store to a customer’s home.