ShopRite testing in-store robots
Conn. stores not included in pilot program locations
Move over Marty: In the world of supermarket roaming robots, Stop & Shop’s mechanized aisle monitor is about to get some competition.
ShopRite, which has 20 Connecticut locations, is launching a pilot program to bring robots, named Tally, to its stores this year. Officials with Simbe Robotics, the California company that developed Tally, confirmed ShopRite’s plans on Thursday.
“Wakefern Food Corp. is committed to providing our customers best-inclass grocery shopping experiences,” said Charles McWeeney, who is vice president of Technology, Innovation & Strategy at the New Jersey-based purchasing and administrative arm for ShopRite’s retailer-owned grocery cooperative. “Tally’s technology is another tool to help our store operations and staff while creating new opportunities to maximize customer satisfaction.”
A Wakefern spokesperson was not available for comment about when the Tally pilot will be launched, how long it will last and how much each robot costs.
However, Sara Platnick, a spokesperson for Simbe, said Connecticut stores will not be involved in the pilot.
Tally autonomously roams store aisles up to three times per day, using high-definition computer vision technology to collect data on whether products are in stock, in the correct location and accurately priced, the company said.
The robot’s data-gathering technology allows store employees to work more closely with customers, according to Brad Bogolea, co-founder and chief executive officer of Simbe Robotics.
“Tally is a cost-effective solution that supports the work of store teams and enhances the retail experience,” Bogolea said in a statement.
Platnick said Simbe’s robot is already used at some Giant Eagle and Meijer locations. All of the 111 stores that are part of the St. Louis-based grocery chain Schnucks use Tally.
Burt Flickinger, managing director of New York City-based Strategic Resource Group, said he has no direct knowledge regarding the details of ShopRite’s pilot program, but he expects it will launch this summer at some of the chain’s stores near Wakefern’s headquarters.
“If the pilot goes well, my guess is the Connecticut stores would be included in a second phase of the rollout,” Flickinger said. “There’s an acute shortage of workers and this would allow them to fill some holes they have with the robots and move workers to jobs that require more skill.”
Connecticut consumers first experienced supermarket robots that use artificial intelligence when Stop & Shop rolled out Marty in 2019. The customers’ reaction to Marty — which reportedly cost $35,000 per robot — was mixed, with some complaining they felt store officials were spying on them and they got in their way while shopping.
But Waybe Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association supermarket trade group, said Stop & Shop officials have research that children of consumers “really love Marty.”
“These robots have been around the industry for at least a half-dozen years,” Pesce said. “And as long as the size of the unit isn’t intrusive, it provides grocers with another set of eyes and ears.”
Aisle-roaming robots help supermarket owners know if they are operating efficiently, he said. Pesce recently returned from a National Grocers Association trade show, which he said had many exhibitors showing off “a lot of technology, not just robots.”
“It’s an investment in the future,” Pesce said.