For retailers and brands from Coca-Cola to Anheuser-Busch, incorrectly-stocked shelves, whether because stuff is selling or because it’s been put in the wrong place, is more than an annoyance: it’s potential for millions in lost sales. The Pensa Systems drone can fly around a store and examine items on both normal shelves and coolers, comparing what’s actually in the store to planograms — a retailer’s map of what things should look like. Pensa worked with Anheuser-Busch InBev on a pilot program that focused on easy setup and integration with existing retail locations, minimizing the work required to begin getting data. At a store in Montreal, Pensa was able to collect hourly and daily data on out-of-stocks and share-of-shelf within the beer section, recording a 98-percent success rate on out-of-stock detection over 200 test flights. Andrew Green, Global Director of Innovation at AB InBev — the world’s largest brewer — said in a press release that the company was “enthusiastic” about Pensa’s approach and that the company plans to continue testing it. With manpower-intensive manual stock-level checks running hours behind the drone-powered alternative, retailers could find appeal in the aeronautical solution. Of course, walking into a store and having a drone flying around you might be unnerving for customers, especially since a whizzing robot has the potential to be far more noticeably intrusive than an eye-in-the-sky camera silently watching your every move. But, if it means there’s a better chance of having your favorite beer chilled and ready for you in the cooler, it’s probably a trade-off buyers will happily make.
