Inside Walmart’s Tech Stack
Walmart has been quietly building a sophisticated AI-driven infrastructure — and it’s shifting automation and intelligence closer to the store floor, directly affecting how products are stocked, promoted and purchased.
Here’s a look at some of the key tools and technologies Walmart is deploying across its ecosystem:
Digital Twin Technology
Walmart uses digital twin simulations — virtual replicas of stores and operations — to model supply chain scenarios, plan store layouts and improve product flow. These simulations help forecast demand more accurately and enable smarter inventory decisions in real time.
Computer Vision
Cameras and AI software monitor shelf conditions to detect out-of-stocks, misplaced items or planogram compliance issues. This data feeds directly into Walmart’s inventory systems to help associates restock more efficiently and improve product availability.
Also Read: Walmart Applying Agentic AI to Optimize In-Store, Marketing Operations
Augmented Reality for Associates
Store employees are using AR tools — often through handheld devices — to locate products, restock shelves and manage in-store tasks with greater precision.
RFID Tagging
The retailer has expanded its use of RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags on products to increase inventory visibility and speed up item tracking in stores and warehouses. This supports faster fulfillment and more accurate stock management.
Walmart is also pairing RFID with AR tools, allowing employees to scan product codes and quickly see where items are located — whether on the sales floor, in the backroom or in transit.
Gen AI-Powered Chat Assistant
At CES 2024, Walmart unveiled a generative AI assistant that helps customers find products, plan meals, and get real-time support in-store and online. The assistant leverages Walmart’s first-party data to offer more personalized and conversational experiences.
Automated Warehousing and Robotics
In its distribution centers, Walmart has invested in AI-driven automation and robotics to streamline picking, sorting and loading processes. This reduces delivery times and increases shelf availability across its store network.
Wally: AI-Driven Insights for Merchandising
Walmart’s internal analytics platform, Wally, gives merchandising teams a real-time, AI-enhanced view of sales, inventory levels and demand signals across the business. The tool helps ensure availability both in-store and online.
Why It Matters for Shopper Marketers
Walmart’s tech investments may not all be shopper-facing, but they have downstream effects that directly impact the marketing environment. With better data on inventory, shelf conditions and customer needs, Walmart can serve more relevant ads, reduce friction in the path to purchase and coordinate media activations with product availability.
For CPG brands, this means opportunities for more precise personalization, better campaign execution and closer alignment between retail media and in-store conditions.
Walmart recently detailed these tools in a July “Retail. Rewired” post to its corporate website.
This article first appeared on the site of sister publication P2PI.
