Autonomous-vehicle manufacturer Waymo will test shuttle services at a DDR-owned shopping center and a Walmart store in Phoenix this summer.
Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc., will use its self-driving Chrysler vans to ferry consumers to Walmart stores after they buy items on the retailer's website. For DDR Corp., Waymo will offer rides to and from the company's Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center. "DDR's senior vice president of IT [Kim Scharf] has a relationship with Google and ultimately was able to set up and build a relationship with Waymo, and we were able to strike this arrangement," DDR President and CEO David Lukes said on a conference call.
DDR will use lessons learned to prepare more of its properties for self-driving cars. “The venture is already helping us to better understand how evolving transportation technology will affect the design and usage of our centers,” said Executive Vice President and COO Michael Makinen.
Waymo also signed a deal with Element Hotels to offer shuttles for guests around Phoenix. Moreover, the company is expanding existing partnerships in Phoenix with AutoNation and Avis Budget Group. Waymo says it plans to begin a paid self-driving service in Phoenix by the end of this year.
Read more about self-driving cars and their potential impact on shopping centers here.
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
