Morrisons Unleashes Tally The Trolleybot In UK’s First Robot Retail Trial

In a pioneering move for the UK retail sector, Morrisons has become the first supermarket in the country to introduce aisle-roaming robots to assist staff on the shop floor.

Image: Simbe

The retailer is trialling the autonomous 'Tally' robots, developed by US tech firm Simbe, in three of its stores: Wetherby, Redcar, and Stockton.​

Tally is designed to navigate store aisles independently, scanning shelves to monitor stock levels and ensure products are correctly placed and priced.

The data collected by Tally is intended to help staff maintain inventory accuracy and improve product availability for customers.​

Morrisons stated that the introduction of Tally will allow human colleagues to focus more on customer service, as the robots handle routine stock-checking tasks.

This initiative is part of a broader trend in the supermarket industry to enhance customer experience through technological innovation.​

The deployment of Tally follows similar technological advancements in the sector. For instance, last year, Sainsbury's began testing larger hybrid self-checkouts featuring conveyor belts and bagging areas.​

As Morrisons leads the way with in-store robotics, the trial's outcomes may influence how other UK supermarkets integrate automation to support their workforce and improve operational efficiency.