The next time you head to Morrisons, you might notice something – or someone – new among the aisles.
In a UK first, the supermarket is introducing robots to help out around the store.
The ‘Tally’ robots can be spotted in three Morrisons stores – Wetherby, Redcar and Stockton – and will primarily be used to check stock.
Tally, which comes from US tech company, Simbe, can roam up and down the aisles, with no assistance, collecting data.
And don’t worry, it’s clever enough to swerve a human if you cross it’s path with your trolley.
On LinkedIn, Seamus McHugh, head of European market development at Simbe said he was ‘delighted’ to have Simbe in Morrisons – after already being used in nine countries, including Germany, Portugal and France.
Last year, the bots – which stand at 5ft 4in – found their way into American grocery chain, Tops. At the time, Scott Kessler, executive vice president of Tops’ parent company said: ‘[It can] check accuracy of prices, check accuracy of promotional tags.’
But, he acknowledged that ‘any new technology is a little scary at first.’
Shoppers in store at the time also said they’d been able to ask Tally wherethey could find certain ingredients.
The new AI-tech begs the question then: how will this affect human employees?
Morrisons told the Grocer that Tally will allow more time for real-life colleagues to focus on customer service, but they’re the latest in a long-life of supermarket tech looking to improve on customer experience.
Last year, Sainsbury’s began testing out larger hybrid self-checkouts which featured conveyor belts as well as a bagging area. And in January, M&S began trailing new smart checkouts that calculate how much you owe, without customers (or staff) lifting a finger.
But shoppers have previously had some choice words to say about in-store technology, calling it ‘dystopian’.
In a post on Facebook, one user was upset by the idea of missing out on human interactions at the supermarket, saying: ‘Nope we DO NOT WANT THESE IN OUR SHOPS.
‘I would always go to a till with a person, having a small chat with them and asking how they are doing – everyone has a bad day – can’t do that with a computer.’
And on X, another shopper lamented the ‘loss of the friendly interactions,’ adding, ‘is it worth it?’
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