alt Hacker NewsAnd what some of us might not have the context for, is that grocery stores at the time were usually clerk-serviced; Just like you don't pump your own gas in New Jersey, at the time the norm was that you handed the clerk a list of products and they fetched them from the shelves for you.
Arguably this model has a great deal of compatibility with robotic compact storage, especially in high-land-value areas.
And surprisingly, it was actually Piggly Wiggly that was the first grocery store to open up their warehouse and allow customers to self-service! [1]
> Piggly Wiggly was the first self-service grocery store.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggly_Wiggly#History