The United Family, a subsidiary of Albertsons Cos., has introduced Tally, an autonomous robot powered by Simbe’s store intelligence platform. The pilot program is aimed at enhancing inventory management and pricing accuracy. The United Family says Tally is intended to complement store employees by handling repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on enhancing customer interactions.
Tally will be deployed in select Market Street, United Supermarkets, and Albertsons Market stores across Texas and New Mexico through January. The robot will autonomously navigate store aisles three to four times a day, scanning shelves to identify out-of-stock items and pricing discrepancies, allowing store teams to address these issues more quickly and efficiently. By automating inventory checks, Tally frees employees to focus on delivering guest service.
Reyes Jimenez, Chief Information Officer of The United Family, emphasized the importance of innovation in maintaining high-quality guest service. “The Tally robot enables us to handle inventory and operational challenges with great precision, allowing our teams to focus on what matters most – serving our guests. We’re excited to see the benefits this technology brings to our stores and are eager to evaluate its potential for expansion.”
Tally is expected to identify up to 10 times more out-of-stock items than manual checks, improving product availability and pricing accuracy. The robot’s detailed daily reporting will provide stores and business intelligence teams with actionable data, helping them address high-priority issues more efficiently. This improved inventory management is expected to enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.
Operating discreetly, Tally makes subtle noises to avoid startling customers and will pause or navigate around guests when necessary. The robot does not capture photos or videos of customers, ensuring privacy. Shoppers are encouraged to provide feedback during the pilot, which will help shape the future of the program. Once the pilot concludes in January, The United Family will assess the data and decide whether to expand the program to additional stores.
Simbe, maker of Tally, says their technology is capable of delving even deeper into shelf-level intelligence by providing vendors and manufacturers with near real-time shelf intelligence for the first time. The solution includes insights for vendors on SKU-level shelf availability and out of stocks, precise item location, restocking and promotion execution, and more. According to Simbe, vendors can use that data to help improve inventory, product placement, pricing, shelf share and the overall customer experience. Simbe’s multimodal technology solutions deliver store intelligence to retailers around the world, including Albertsons Cos., United Supermarkets, Northeast Grocery, SpartanNash, Tops Friendly Markets, Wakefern Food Corp. and more.
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