‘Marty The Robot’ Soon To Be Seen In Township Stop & Shops

Marty the Robot will soon be seen in the township’s three Stop & Shop supermarkets. (Photo: Retail Business Services LLC)

All three township Stop & Shop supermarkets will have a new “employee” zipping down the shopping aisles come this Spring.

The new addition’s name is Marty; Marty won’t need to take breaks, won’t call in sick and may just need the occasional software upgrade. (But who among us doesn’t?)

Marty is a robot being deployed to 41 of the 60 Stop & Shops in New Jersey – and 500 grocery stores nationwide – by parent company Ahold Delhaize Group. The robot will be used to identify hazards such as liquid spills and “help stores mitigate risk caused by such spills, as well as enable associates to spend more time serving and interfacing with customers,” according to a press release about the robots.

Township Stop & Shop shoppers should see the robot in stores in late April, said company spokeswoman Stefanie Shuman. She said that time frame is fluid and may change.

She said about two-thirds of the New Jersey stores should see Marty in late April, while the remaining one-third should see the robot in May.

Marty has been tested in Ahold-owned Giant Supermarkets, according to the release.

The robots are being deployed through Ahold’s Retail Business Services company, in partnership with Badger Technologies, according to the release.

“As part of our continued focus on technology transformation, we’re pleased to support one of the most significant deployments of robotics innovation in the grocery retail industry,” Paul Scorza, EVP and Chief Information Officer for Retail Business Services, said in the release. “Several companies in the grocery retail space have recently begun testing or using in-store robots – something Retail Business Services and the local brands we serve have been doing for some time. We’re pleased to support the GIANT/MARTIN’S and Stop & Shop brands as they now lead the industry from test to large-scale usage of robots and to see the benefits the technology continues to drive for their businesses.”

Stop & Shops are located in the Rutgers Plaza center on Easton Avenue, Route 27 and Veronica Avenue and Route 27 and South Middlebush Road in Franklin Park.

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