How a Leading U.S. Grocer Improved On-Shelf Availability and Unlocked $216K per Store in a Three-Month Pilot

AT A GLANCE

• Retailer: Large, leading U.S. grocery retailer
• Segment: National Grocery
• Stores Deployed: Nearly 40 stores across two key divisions
• Focus Areas:
  • Automate out-of-stock (OOS) detection
  • Automate phantom inventory identification
  • Improve on-shelf availability (OSA)
  • Improve inventory accuracy and digital order fill rate
  • Associate enablement
• Key Wins:
  • $216K in annual sales lift per store
  • 28% increase in OSA in just six weeks
  • 35% reduction in store-actionable OOS
  • 99% daily task completion by store teams
  • 4.1/5 average associate rating of the program

A top national grocer set out to improve OSA in order to capture lost sales, enhance shelf presentation, and support more efficient replenishment. With a competitive pilot underway between Simbe and another solution provider, the retailer wanted to rigorously evaluate both technologies across real stores, real operations, and real results. The primary focus was evaluating the return on investment to support deploying this technology across their chain.

At the core, the business problem was clear: the retailer recognized a significant opportunity to improve OSA of sellable products. Key issues impacting shelf conditions included shelf outs, product face-overs, incorrect product placement, inaccurate balance on hand, and dually located products missing from their designated location. Addressing these shelf-level gaps was essential to improving the customer experience, increasing sales, and streamlining store operations.

The first pilot phase launched in August 2024 across four stores in a key division. This early-phase evaluated Simbe’s hardware and software execution and accuracy against multiple shelf scanning technologies including mobile devices, fixed cameras, and autonomous robots. Robotic scanning solutions—like Simbe’s—emerged as the top performer, achieving 95–98% precision compared to 85% for mobile and 80% for fixed camera alternatives.

Given the strong performance, the grocer initiated a second pilot phase across 35 stores in a separate division. The objective was to measure financial value and operational improvements in a live store environment. Simbe’s Store Intelligence platform, powered by Tally, was evaluated against another provider based on KPIs like OOS reduction, sales impact, replenishment execution, and store engagement.

Simbe deployed Tally robots to scan shelves throughout the day, with OOS detections fed directly into the retailer’s existing systems and workflows. The pilot measured only these core OOS capabilities, however, to preview the platform’s broader value, Simbe also demonstrated additional functionality such as:

• Promo tag validation: Detects missing, expired, or incorrect promotional tags
• Endcap product recognition: Confirms execution of promotional display plans
• Virtual Tour: Enables 360-degree remote store walks
• Produce rack & bakery table OOS: Flags OOS or low items (e.g., squash, cilantro, bread, pastries)
• Plug & spread detection: Identifies product-tag mismatches and face-overs
• Tally Spot monitoring: Fixed-camera coverage of key high-velocity items like rotisserie chicken
• Checkout lane OOS: Identifies product gaps of fast-turning and high-margin items
• Topstock coverage: Identifies backstock that can be replenished to shelves

Simbe stores consistently outperformed the control group with statistically significant gains:

• $216K per store in annual sales lift, driven by improved in-stock conditions and process execution
• 28% increase in OSA
• 35% reduction in store-actionable OOS
• 99% daily task list completion by store teams
• 4.1/5 associate rating; 92% said store conditions improved, and 89% reported improved stocking efficiency

Improvement was not only seen across metrics, but also across store types and formats. Large-format and premium-oriented stores experienced the highest sales lift. Simbe’s flexible design worked across diverse store environments, confirming scalability for enterprise rollout.

LOOKING AHEAD

Encouraged by strong pilot results, the retailer is preparing next steps to scale, and is expected to:

• Begin evaluating additional capabilities, including RFID integration
• Recommend chain-wide expansion to leadership by end of 2026

This test-and-learn approach confirmed the grocer’s belief that data alone isn’t enough, it’s how you activate it that matters. Simbe proved it could integrate seamlessly into day-to-day store operations and deliver ROI that justified enterprise investment. Associates didn’t just adapt, they adopted. Store teams consistently hit 99% task completion and viewed Tally as a reliable partner in their daily routines.

What set this program apart wasn’t just the technology, but how it worked for people. Through autonomous robotics and computer vision, Tally helped store teams catch and fix more out-of-stocks—over twice as many as before—and gave them clearer visibility into what needed attention, when. The result wasn’t just better numbers, but better habits, stronger confidence, and a path to smarter operations across the fleet.