Northeast Grocery Testing 'Tally' In Select Stores
Northeast Grocery is launching a pilot program featuring Tally the robot as the parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets tests the technology in select stores.
According to the company, the goal is to test the technology in an effort to enhancing inventory management, improving pricing accuracy, and elevating the overall customer shopping experience. Northeast Grocery said it is the first retail grocery chain to utilize this technology across many of its markets in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
The pilot program is set to run from September 2024 through January 2025 and will be conducted in 10 stores— 5 Price Chopper/Market 32 locations in East Greenbush, Catskill, Amsterdam, Johnstown, and Queensbury, N.Y.; and 5 Tops Friendly Markets stores in Amherst (2 locations), Depew, Hamburg, and Orchard Park, N.Y.
Tally will autonomously navigate store aisles up to three times a day, scanning shelves to identify out-of-stock items and pricing discrepancies, which will allow store teams to address issues more quickly and efficiently. This proactive approach to inventory management will free up store staff to focus on providing a higher level of customer service, company officials said.
“As a company, we are always looking for ways to innovate and enhance both our operations and the customer experience,” said Scott Kessler, executive vice president and chief information officer with Northeast Grocery, Inc. “The Tally robot allows us to address inventory and pricing challenges with incredible precision while giving our store teams the tools they need to focus on what matters most— serving our customers."
Tally’s technology offers several operational benefits. By identifying up to 10 times more out-of-stock items than manual store checks, Tally has the potential to reduce out-of-stock rates by 60%, ensuring that customers are more likely to find the products they need. Additionally, stores using Tally in previous pilot programs have seen a 90% improvement in pricing accuracy, making sure customers are charged correctly at checkout.
Tally’s detailed reporting will also give stores and business intelligence teams daily actionable data, allowing them to focus on high-priority issues such as restocking shelves and correcting price tags. This is expected to not only improve operational efficiency but also positively impact sales as stores see better product availability and pricing accuracy.
Tally is designed to complement the work of store employees, not replace them. By handling repetitive tasks like scanning shelves for inventory and price accuracy, Tally frees up team members to engage in other important activities and responsibilities that contribute to an exceptional shopping experience, in turn creating a more fulfilling and enjoyable work environment as well.
After the pilot in January 2025, Northeast Grocery, Inc. will review the data and determine the next steps, including the potential expansion of the Tally robots to additional stores.
