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Roaming robots, on-shelf cameras, and sophisticated handhelds appear to be battling over how to solve understocks at the store level.
The most controversial is the use of robots. The 2025 SPAR Consumer Survey found 71% of shoppers uncomfortable or unsure about the idea of roaming robots with cameras in stores, with women expressing more discomfort than men.
In 2020, Walmart, one of the biggest adopters of this technology, announced it was ending a contract that saw shelf-scanning robots appear in some 500 of its stores. The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that as more people began shopping online, Walmart had “more workers walking the aisles frequently to collect online orders” that could also perform inventory checks. Walmart also reportedly had concerns about what customers would think of seeing robots in stores.
Yet Shop & Stop & Shop and Giant, both owned by Ahold Delhaize, have had robots patrolling aisles to check for spills and stock for several years. Kroger also began piloting robots at some stores earlier this year, with BJ’s Wholesale Club, SpartanNash, and Schnuck Markets also among those employing inventory-checking robots.
New research from IHL Group, in partnership with Brain Corp, a robotics firm, found robotics ranking as the top solution to improve inventory accuracy, ahead of handheld RFID, mobile image capture, fixed cameras, or barcode scanners. The survey of about 200 retail executives found 72% of retailers are ready to deploy in-store robots.
Robots May Not Be the Only Answer to Inventory Struggles in Retail
However, Walmart Canada, Asda and Morrisons in the U.K., Metropolitan Market in Washington, and Australia’s Woolworths are among retailers that have rolled our or begun trialing shelf cameras using computer vision to monitor stock levels in real time. At least one Woolworths’ store installed 500 mini cameras on product shelves.
In an ongoing trial at five Asda stores, the cameras are mounted on poles on top shelves, each monitoring around eight feet of shelf space opposite. Kevin Johnson -- CEO of Focal Systems, the technology provider -- told The Grocer earlier this year that “deep learning breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled the precise identification of products, shelf conditions, and anomalies in highly complex and dynamic retail environments.”
News of Asda’s test has drawn privacy concerns, including that they might be used to monitor shoplifters.
Meanwhile, handheld scanners have long been used by store staff to not only more quickly read SKU or UPC codes versus counting by hand with inventory count sheets, but also quickly get the information to retail POS systems. With AI and other advances, the handhelds are seeing an upgrade.
In September, Starbucks announced it was rolling out AI-powered automated counting via scanning tablets across its North American fleet. Combining computer vision, 3D spatial intelligence, and augmented reality, the technology has proven an ability to count inventory eight times more frequently for better real-time visibility.
Deb Hall Lefevre, Starbucks chief technology officer, said in a blog entry, “In just minutes, it identifies what’s available, flags low-stock items and, soon, will even automate restock orders. It’s a farewell to manual tallies — and a hello to smarter, more seamless operations.”