Walmart Looks to Generative AI as Grocers Tap Self-Service

As grocers look for ways to take advantage of the efficiency of self-service options while mitigating the drawbacks, Walmart is looking to generative artificial intelligence (AI) to make its digital tools smarter and more effective.

“We’ve long talked about the need for self-service,” Walmart Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer Donna Morris told investors in a Q&A session Friday (June 2). “Most individuals just want to find things on their own. They don’t want to call someone. They want to find it. And so, in a world of Gen AI, it’s opening up the opportunity for individuals to self-serve.”

Morris added that Walmart Executive Vice President, Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar has a “whole council set up” working on “some pretty exciting things” in that area.

Her comments come just days after Instacart announced that it was combining its AI capabilities and data with OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology to roll out Ask Instacart, a self-service inspiration and meal planning tool.

These moves come as grocers seek opportunities to replace labor-intensive processes with self-service alternatives throughout shoppers’ retail journey. For instance, New York City-based grocery chain Morton Williams, which has 16 locations across the city and New Jersey, is gearing up to roll out smart carts, as technology company A2Z publicized on Wednesday (May 31).

The technology provider reported receiving an order for 100 smart carts specifically designed for urban supermarkets.

“We are delighted to partner with Morton Williams. This order reflects the confidence Morton Williams has in our Cust2Mate smart cart solution and its ability to deliver tangible benefits to their customers and business,” Guy Mordoch, CEO of A2Z’s smart cart subsidiary Cust2Mate, said in a statement. “As we continue to expand our presence in the market, we remain committed to providing innovative technology solutions that drive growth and value for our clients.”

Earlier this year, Rochester-based regional supermarket Wegmans began testing out smart carts following the shutdown of its scan-and-go pilot.

Yet as some grocers are stepping up their smart cart efforts, others are scaling them back. The Washington Post recently reported that Ahold Delhaize subsidiary Giant Food is limiting self-checkout to 20 items, having observed a sharp increase in shoplifting in recent years.

“To say [theft has] risen tenfold in the last five years would not be an understatement,” Giant Food president Ira Kress told the news outlet.

Yet many grocers believe that self-service capabilities are key to maintaining customers’ loyalty, according to data from PYMNTS’ study “Big Retail’s Innovation Mandate: Convenience And Personalization,” created in collaboration with ACI Worldwide. The report, which draws from a survey of 300 major retailers in the U.S. and the U.K., 61% of grocers reported believing that shoppers would be very or extremely likely to switch merchants if self-checkout kiosks were not provided.

Plus, research cited in the February edition of PYMNTS’ Retail Tracker® series, Innovating the Retail Checkout Experience, created in collaboration with LS Retail, reveals that 85% of retail customers say self-checkout is faster than waiting for a cashier, and 60% prefer self-checkout to interacting with a cashier.