Wal-Mart Wants to Know When Your Milk Is About to Expire
May 04 2017 - 7:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is thinking about using sensor technologies
to track how much detergent a family has used or when milk is about
to expire, according to a patent application made public Thursday,
a sign the retailer is exploring new ways to fend off Amazon.com
Inc.
The system proposed by the retailer could use sensors in homes
and attached to products like toothpaste, milk or razors to trigger
automatic delivery of another box or suggest related products to
buy, all while collecting consumer behavior data to tailor
marketing, says the application on the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office website.
The proposed system is an advanced version of subscription
services already widely available through companies like Amazon.com
and Target Corp. Amazon lets shoppers use a mobile phone to scan a
product for home delivery and Dash Buttons, small brand specific
devices that let shoppers order products like Colgate toothpaste by
pushing a button.
Wal-Mart's patent filing describes a system with a variety of
sensor technologies inside products and homes including radio
frequencies, Bluetooth, or bar-code scanners to track how often a
product is used, where it moves in a home or what best to market to
a shopper next.
For example, clothes could be "tagged," then tracked as they
enter a person's home for the first time, says the patent
application. Then the system could track the clothes going into a
washing machine, helping to predict the number of times the clothes
are worn and washed. "When a certain threshold was set by the
manufacturer as to the durability of the articles, a new set of
clothes may be automatically ordered," says the filing. A carton of
milk near its "use by" date could trigger a reminder for the
shopper to drink it or order a new one for delivery.
A Wal-Mart spokesman declined to comment on the system described
in the filing. It is unclear if Wal-Mart is currently testing
something similar. It is common for companies to file patents for
ideas that never become products.
The vast majority of Wal-Mart's patents are related to stores or
e-commerce efforts, not internet-connected devices used in
shopper's homes, says CB Insights, a research firm that first
discovered the Wal-Mart patent application. The patent, made public
Thursday, was originally filed in October.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2017 18:47 ET (22:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024