Kmart's robot Tory now counts stock across all Australian stores
Kmart has deployed Tory, a robot using RFID technology, across all large-format stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Kmart now uses Tory, an autonomous robot that travels through stores using RFID technology to count and locate inventory. The technology is already running across all Kmart large-format stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings has also trialled a similar robot called Zippedi. It scans shelves overnight to spot gaps, out-of-stock items and pricing errors.
Tory and Zippedi are not test concepts at technology conferences. They are performing real work in Australian stores right now.
The real value does not come from the robot itself. It comes from what retailers do with the data it collects.
A retailer might not pay staff to check shelves multiple times daily. The cost does not justify the benefit.
But if a robot can do that work cheaply and continuously, the equation changes. Australia's high wages make this shift particularly important for local retailers.
- Tory
- Robot
- RFID
- Technology
- Bunnings' Zippedi
- Competitor robot
Why it mattersRetail automation is moving beyond checkout counters into back-end work that shapes store operations. This could change how often shelves are checked and restocked.
AustraliaAustralian shoppers may notice better stock availability and more accurate pricing as retailers deploy these robots, while retail jobs focused on inventory checks face pressure from automation.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 7 d ago
