Inventory robots coming to Texas, New Mexico supermarkets. Here’s what it will, won’t do

Shoppers at Albertsons, United and Market Street supermarkets across Texas and New Mexico will soon see a new entity roaming the aisles.

That new entity will be a long rectangle of black, white and red or orange on wheels. It is a robot named Tally, and is part of a new improvement initiative that began in October across these supermarkets, the company confirmed on Friday.

What is Tally, and what does it do?

Tally is an “innovative, autonomous robot that is part of Simbe’s market-leading store intelligence platform.” The robot will travel the aisles of select stores three to four times every day to scan shelves, and can identify as much as 10 times more issues than manual checks.

The scans will alert stores and “business intelligence teams” daily with data, which can be used to show what needs restocking and new price tags. In turn, the release stated this should “positively impact sales as stores see better product availability and pricing accuracy.”

The release also stated that the implementation of Tally is to “complement the work of store team members, not replace them.” By taking care of the repetitive inventory tasks, employees will be free to work on different duties.

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“The Tally robot allows us to address inventory and other challenges withincredible precision, enabling our store teams to focus on what matters most—serving our guests,” said Reyes Jimenez, chief information officer of The United Family.

Tally will operate autonomously, but discreetly. While it works, it will make soft noises to alert customers to its presence. If it encounters a customer, it will either pause, go around or turn around and come back later. Customers will not be photographed or filmed at any point by Tally.

United welcomed customers to provide feedback on Tally during the pilot, with will go from October 2024 through January 2025. At the end, The United Family will review the data and discuss next steps, which could include more stores getting Tally robots.

“We are excited about the improvements this AI and Robotics technology will bring to our stores and are eager to evaluate its potential for expansion to other locations,” Jimenez said.