
Amazon and Walmart are two of the largest retailers in the world, and both have been at the forefront of using AI to optimize product placement in their stores and online platforms. Let’s take a closer look at how each company uses AI to improve sales through smarter product placement.
1. Amazon: AI in Amazon Go Stores and Beyond
Amazon is widely known for its innovations in both e-commerce and physical retail stores. The company has leveraged AI in several ways to optimize product placement and improve the overall shopping experience.

Amazon Go: AI for Dynamic In-Store Product Placement
- Cashier-less Stores: Amazon Go stores are a prime example of AI in action. These stores utilize AI, computer vision, and deep learning algorithms to provide a cashier-less shopping experience. The AI system tracks customer movements, which products they pick up, and when they place items in their baskets. Customers can simply walk out of the store with their purchases, and the AI system automatically charges them for the items they’ve selected.
- Smart Shelving and Recommendations: The AI system in Amazon Go also dynamically adjusts product placement. For example, if a product is trending, the system may move it to a more visible spot based on customer interest and foot traffic. The store continuously learns from customer interactions, helping Amazon better understand which products should be placed where to maximize sales. If a specific snack or beverage is getting more attention, it could be moved closer to the checkout counter to increase its visibility.
AI-Driven Online Product Placement
Beyond physical stores, Amazon also uses AI extensively for online shopping. AI analyzes customer browsing history, purchase patterns, and search queries to recommend products and adjust their placement on the site.
- Personalized Recommendations: When a customer logs into Amazon’s website, they are greeted with personalized product suggestions based on their past purchases and browsing behavior. This product placement is driven by AI algorithms that predict what products a shopper is most likely to buy next. For example, if someone recently bought a laptop, Amazon’s AI might recommend accessories like laptop bags, wireless mice, or external hard drives.
- Search Engine Optimization: AI is also used to optimize product placement in Amazon’s search results. Based on algorithms that analyze relevance, sales history, reviews, and more, products are ranked in search results to ensure that the most relevant products are placed at the top, which leads to higher sales.
2. Walmart: AI for Smarter In-Store and Online Product Placement
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has also been making significant strides in leveraging AI to improve its in-store and online product placement. Walmart has invested heavily in AI to streamline its operations, optimize supply chains, and improve product placement.
Walmart’s Intelligent Retail Lab
Walmart’s Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL) is a prime example of how the retailer is using AI to optimize its store operations, including product placement.
- Tracking Foot Traffic and Customer Behavior: The IRL uses AI-powered cameras and sensors to track customer movements and behaviors within the store. This data allows Walmart to understand which aisles get the most traffic, where customers tend to linger, and which products they are most interested in. AI uses this information to recommend strategic product placements in these high-traffic areas to increase visibility and sales.
- Shelf Monitoring: AI-powered cameras in the lab also monitor shelf stock in real-time. If a product is running low or missing from a shelf, the AI system alerts store employees so they can restock or move products around. This helps ensure that high-demand items stay in stock and that popular products are always available in the right location.
- Dynamic Product Placement: The IRL helps Walmart respond to changing customer preferences. If AI detects a spike in interest in a specific product (e.g., a new tech gadget or seasonal item), the system can automatically suggest moving that item to a more prominent location to increase sales. This real-time adaptability is a key advantage for retailers looking to keep pace with customer demand.
Walmart and AI-Driven Inventory Management
AI also plays a major role in Walmart’s inventory management system, which directly affects product placement.
- Optimized Stock Levels: AI uses past sales data, current trends, and even weather patterns to predict how much inventory is needed for each product. This helps Walmart optimize shelf space and ensure products are neither overstocked nor understocked. If an item is likely to sell out due to high demand, the AI system can suggest relocating it to a more prominent area or moving extra stock from the back of the store to the shelves.
- Predictive Demand Forecasting: For example, if there’s a sudden heatwave, AI might predict that air conditioners and fans will be in high demand. Based on this forecast, the system may recommend placing these products near the front of the store to ensure maximum visibility and sales.
AI in Walmart’s E-Commerce and Online Product Placement
- Personalized Shopping Experience: Just like Amazon, Walmart uses AI for online product placement as well. Through personalized recommendations and targeted ads, Walmart’s website suggests products based on a shopper’s browsing history, preferences, and location. For example, if you’ve recently searched for “baby products,” you might see recommendations for baby formula, diapers, or toys on your homepage.
- Optimizing Search Results: Walmart’s AI also analyzes data to improve the product ranking in search results. Products with higher sales, better reviews, and more relevance to the user’s search query are placed higher in the search results, making them more likely to be purchased. AI ensures that the products most likely to meet a shopper’s needs are at the top of their search results.
Key Differences in How Amazon and Walmart Use AI for Product Placement
- Amazon’s Focus on Online and AI for Real-Time In-Store Experience: Amazon is more heavily focused on online personalization and AI-powered physical stores, like Amazon Go, where real-time customer interactions and product placements are guided by AI. The company uses AI to predict trends and suggest products based on customer behavior both online and in-store.
- Walmart’s Integration of AI in Both In-Store and E-Commerce: Walmart uses AI across both in-store operations (like the Intelligent Retail Lab) and online. It uses AI to track foot traffic and optimize physical shelf space, while also improving the online shopping experience through personalized product recommendations and optimized search rankings. Walmart’s AI also places a significant emphasis on inventory management to ensure products are always in stock.
Conclusion
Both Amazon and Walmart are leading the way in using AI to optimize product placement and drive sales, but they do so in slightly different ways. Amazon focuses heavily on combining in-store AI with an online shopping experience, while Walmart has integrated AI across both its physical and online operations to create a more seamless and efficient shopping experience.
As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect both companies to innovate even further, providing shoppers with more personalized, streamlined, and efficient ways to shop, all while ensuring that the right products are in the right places at the right time. Whether you’re shopping online or in person, AI is helping retailers improve product placement, predict trends, and ultimately make your shopping experience more convenient and enjoyable.
1 Comment
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.