Walmart tests automated system to help fill online grocery orders

Walmart is testing out a new system that will help put together grocery orders placed by customers online. The service lets users order groceries, choose a pickup time and have their order delivered to their car, and the new automated system, called Alphabot, will take over some of the legwork that goes into collecting order items. It will automatically gather certain items from a location's storage area and transport them to employees who will then package the order. The first Alphabot system will be tested at a supercenter in Salem, New Hampshire and Walmart expects it to be up and running by the end of the year. The company is currently adding a 20,000-square-foot extension to the store, which will house Alphabot and include drive-thru lanes for grocery pickup.