Key Highlights
- Walmart is using AI and machine learning to improve inventory management and ensure products are always in stock for customers.
- The algorithms can discern different brands and their inventory positions with more than 95% accuracy, considering factors such as lighting and shelf depth.
- By deploying AI, Walmart has increased employee productivity by 15% and aims to create a seamless shopping experience for customers, making everyday item purchases a “no-brainer.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the retail industry by providing more efficient and effective ways to manage inventory and enhance the customer experience. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is leveraging AI and machine learning to close the loop between customer demand and product availability and improve the shopping experience.
How Walmart Is Using AI To Improve Inventory Management
According to Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s chief technology officer, the company uses AI to help associates stock shelves more efficiently and keep products in stock at all times. Walmart’s AI system, which was deployed last year, can discern the different brands and their inventory positions with more than 95% accuracy, taking into account factors like the depth of the shelf and the amount of light available.Â
Enhancing Employee Productivity and Customer Shopping Experience
When a product reaches a predetermined level, the stock room is automatically alerted so that the item is always available. If there is no product in the stock room, but a delivery containing that product is scheduled to arrive, the algorithm will instruct an associate to take that product directly to the sales floor instead of to the stock room. This approach has led to a 15% increase in employee productivity since the deployment of the AI system.
But Walmart’s use of AI does not stop there. The company also uses AI to enhance the customer shopping experience through its shopping app. For example, the app can recognize when a customer last ordered Pampers and whether the size is still appropriate, enabling Walmart to provide personalized recommendations.
AI is a powerful tool for retailers like Walmart to understand what customers want to buy and how best to get it to them. The goal is to create as little friction as possible between what customers want and what they ultimately buy. This approach makes shopping for everyday items a no-brainer for customers, which enhances the overall shopping experience.
