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Last year, Stop & Shop stores introduced more than 300 stores to Marty, who patrols the aisles looking for spills and alerting employees for potential hazardous spots. According to the company, this allows employees to focus on customers, while Marty makes the rounds at certain stores.
When the robot detects a potential hazard on the floor, he notifies store associates who take corrective action.
There will be a celebration of Marty from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, complete with a coloring activity featuring the bot, a birthday cake, and giveaways at stores where he has become a prominent part of the company’s team.
Marty units scan the stores for hazards about 12 times a day, seven days a week, allowing Stop & Shop associates to focus instead on serving our customers, the company said. It only photographs store floors and has sensors that detect human movement.
Stop & Shop noted that when Marty isn't busy scanning the floors at area grocery stores, he is utilized at local schools to help drive interest in STEM education.
In advance of his birthday, Stop & Shop released some “fun facts” about the robot, which has both confounded and enthralled customers:
- Marty is from Kentucky and was created by Badger Technologies;
- Marty speaks both English and Spanish;
- On average, Marty spots 40 spills and potential hazards at each store every day;
- Marty has more than 300 cousins who also live at Stop & Shop stores across the company’s five-state footprint;
- Marty’s favorite dance move is the robot.
"You might have seen me around your local Stop & Shop - I’m hard to miss - but haven’t had a chance to make my acquaintance," "Marty" posted online. "There’s no need to be shy—stop by, say hello, and take a picture with me. In the meantime, I want to tell you a little more about myself."
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