How Stop & Shop promoted in-store robot Marty to brand ambassador
The googly-eyed autonomous bot is gaining a fan base as the grocery chain makes it a fixture at community events and other public campaigns.
A robot supplied by Badger Technologies in a Giant supermarket in Philadelphia on Nov. 28, 2023. Sam Silverstein/Grocery Dive
For Stop & Shop, Marty is more than just an in-store tech solution alerting workers to spills and out-of-stocks. The tall, gray, googly-eyed robot has become an unofficial mascot of sorts and a generator of positive press coverage for the Ahold Delhaize chain.
Karen Mitchell, chief marketing officer and senior vice president with Stop & Shop, shared in a recent Omni Talk Retail virtual event how efforts to humanize Marty and expand its reach into local communities are lowering tech adoption barriers among consumers and workers.
