Walmart is putting an end to manual inventory, or at least that’s what it intends with the activation of invisible sensors in stores, which aim to track merchandise in real time. From what we know so far, Walmart is implementing battery-free IoT environmental sensors across its extensive supply chain in the United States. It’s not a small chain, by any stretch. It’s an evolution of traditional IoT and radio frequency identification technologies that promise lower costs and greater effectiveness.
Walmart will be using the IoT sensors to track pallets nationwide by the end of 2026
Basically, Walmart, through a partnership with tech company Wiliot, has now begun installing millions of battery-free IoT environmental sensors. The idea is that Walmart will be using the IoT sensors to track pallets nationwide by the end of 2026. These sensors, described as “invisible,” work by extracting energy from sources like radio waves, light, motion, and heat, eliminating the need for batteries. “Expansion to other global markets is under consideration, but the immediate focus is the U.S. rollout,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of transformation and innovation at Walmart. By activating these sensors, Walmart aims to improve inventory accuracy, optimizing processes, which is truly the ultimate goal.
The company will now have real-time information on inventory management, knowing exactly where the merchandise is located
The initial deployment already covers 500 Walmart stores nationwide, but the plan is to expand this IoT technology to more than 46,000 branches and distribution centers in the United States by 2026, as explained above. The company will now have real-time information on inventory management, knowing exactly where the merchandise is located and whether it is owned by the retailer. It is estimated that an estimated 90 million pallets of inventory will be covered when fully scaled.
“We want to know exactly what we have and where it is, at all times”
This news may have raised concerns among a significant segment of Walmart employees, as the technology initiative is already making a significant impact by eliminating some manual tasks and providing automated alerts, Cathey said. “We want to know exactly what we have and where it is, at all times,” Cathey stated. Furthermore, financial data contributes to the company’s “good” news, as in its second quarter fiscal 2026 report, Walmart reported $116.1 billion in revenue, a 2.3% increase over the same period the previous year. Data that is being received with joy, especially by investors.
The loT sensors provide a new stream of data into AI systems
The point is that with this sensor, by capturing high-resolution data on location, temperature, and movement, the sensors feed Walmart’s artificial intelligence systems, which help make faster and more efficient decisions. Furthermore, what makes the addition of ambient IoT sensors significant is that it provides a new stream of data into AI systems, enabling them to be even more effective in giving Walmart greater visibility into supply chain operations.
This new process benefits customers as well as the company, according to Cathey
The reality is that artificial intelligence is gradually (and not so slowly) taking over processes that until now took the longest. Many companies are using it to reduce costs and become more efficient, basically. “The performance of an AI system is based on its training data. The better the data, the better the AI’s performance,” said Julien Bellanger, president of Wiliot.
According to Cathey, this new process benefits customers as well as the company. Walmart anticipates gains from increased supply chain efficiency, greater inventory accuracy, reduced manual employee tasks, and the ability to place items on shelves more quickly. In short, AI has arrived in supermarkets. Whether you understand it or not, for better or worse.
