Robots are already working retail in ANZ
Wesfarmers is running autonomous robots through Kmart and Bunnings stores while customers sleep. This is not a conference demo or a single-store trial. Kmart's Tory robot is live across all large-format stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings has trialled Zippedi for overnight shelf scanning.
The robots handle inventory counting, locate stock via RFID, scan for pricing errors, and identify out-of-stocks. Tory and similar systems like Tally (deployed across 500 US Kroger stores) use computer vision and AI to verify shelf conditions against planograms.
Why this matters at Wesfarmers scale
Bunnings generated $20.4 billion in revenue in FY2026 and employs 20,399 people. Kmart Group did $11.8 billion with 5,444 employees. Even modest productivity gains from automation ripple across hundreds of stores and thousands of staff.
Bunnings revenue grew 4.1% in FY2026 under managing director Michael Schneider. Kmart Group revenue was up 2.8%. Both businesses are expanding steadily, which makes store-level efficiency tools commercially meaningful rather than experimental.
Retail automation is already deployed, not coming
The conversation around retail AI tends to focus on chatbots and personalisation. Meanwhile, physical automation has quietly moved into production. Overseas adoption is accelerating: Kroger hit 500 Tally robots, Tesco is trialling similar tech in the UK.
For sales teams selling into retail or adjacent sectors, the implication is clear: store operations automation is a live category, not a future pitch. If you are calling on large-format retail, logistics, or workforce management buyers, they are already evaluating or deploying this technology.
Wesfarmers is publicly listed, so these deployments are business-as-usual efficiency plays rather than venture-backed moonshots. The robots are working third shift. The ROI case is already made.