Why Walmart will track its merchandise with millions of sensors starting this year

Walmart will be putting millions of sensors on its pallets across its supply chain chain, in a move that technology partner Wiliot is calling “the first large-scale deployment of ambient Internet of Things (IoT)” sensors in the retail industry.

The technology is currently deployed in 500 Walmart locations, and the retail giant plans to expand nationwide in 2026.

The ambient IoT sensors are battery-free and operate by harvesting energy from sources such as radio waves, light, motion, and heat, according to CNBC.

The wide rollout will cover 4,600 Walmart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and over 40 distribution centers, generating high-resolution supply chain data that feeds into Walmart’s AI systems. The retail giant has one of the biggest supply chain networks in the U.S.

“We’re not only optimizing our supply chain to make faster, smarter inventory decisions, but we’re also tackling one of the hardest problems in retail—knowing exactly what we own and where it is at any given moment,” Greg Cathey, Walmart senior vice president of transformation and innovation, said in a statement. “This enhanced visibility helps us deliver the consistent value, quality, and experience our customers expect.”

With this move, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant is aiming to improve its supply chain efficiency, accuracy about its inventory, and cold chain compliance, with real-time insights on what merchandise is owned and where it is at any moment.

Walmart financials

Shares of Walmart (WMT) were up over 1% by the close of the market on Wednesday.

The retail giant’s fiscal second quarter earnings report for 2026 included $116.9 billion in revenue, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 2.3%, over last year. Consolidated net income was $4.1 billion, up 1.3%, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $1.24, a 5.1% increase compared to $1.18 last year.

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