Shoppers at Carrefour in Mall of the Emirates may have come across an unconventional member of staff, “Tally”. Weighing up to 14kg and reaching a height of 163cm, Tally is the first robot to be employed by a retailer in the Middle East. Tally’s main function is to scan items on the shelves and report to the back office highlighting discrepancies in displayed items, allowing the rest of the staff to interact with customers and ensure that Carrefour is offering the best shopping experience. Philippe Peguilhan, Country Manager of Carrefour UAE at Majid Al Futtaim Retail said, “Tally is yet another testament of Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to innovate and lead the industry through unprecedented initiatives that drive efficiency and customer satisfaction. We have already seen a 30% increase in accuracy when it comes to scanning items on the shelves, and we are very excited for what else is to come.” Tally scans the shelves three times a day, with each one taking up to 3 hours, using artificial intelligence to provide real-time insights on missing, misplaced, unmarked, and incorrectly priced items, before alerting a dedicated Carrefour team member to fix the issue. The robot is also embedded with cameras and sensors enabling it to avoid obstacles while roaming the store. Children have been reacting with joy and curiosity when meeting the new robot, going as far as hugging and playing with Tally. Customers shopping at Carrefour Mall of the Emirates are encouraged to say hello, take photos and film their interaction using the hashtag #CarrefourTallyRobot .
Majid Al Futtaim Retail-owned Carrefour in Dubai has deployed inventory-taking Tally robots to scan shop shelves and identify gaps in stock. The robot is equipped with a camera that can detect items of interest such as empty shelves, which it then uses its sensors to identify.