American Eagle to deploy AI-based inventory tracking in stores

A plan to automatically track and locate in-store inventory is taking flight at American Eagle.

The specialty apparel retailer, a subsidiary of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), is planning to launch Radar’s inventory-tracking technology in approximately 500 stores across the U.S. over the next year. The system uses a combination of RFID and computer vision to track and locate in-store inventory at SKU level in near-real time with 99% accuracy, enabling retail store employees to know what product is in-store, and where, according to Radar.

Knowing where everything is result will enable store employees to more efficiently serve customers, replenish items on the sales floor, and fulfill in-store and curbside pickup orders. In addition, American Eagle intends to leverage the Radar platform’s analytics capabilities to help ensure the right inventory is in stock, regardless of day, season, current trends, staffing level or other factors.

“AEO is extremely proud of the exceptional service that we provide to our customers, and we are always exploring new technologies and innovative ways to empower our brand teams to deliver a seamless shopping experience,” said Michael Rempell, executive VP/COO, AEO Inc. “Our initial test with Radar provided visibility into inventory availability and placement with impressive accuracy. Based on those results, we are excited to begin implementing RFID technology to unlock operational and inventory efficiencies, while arming our associates to best serve the needs of customers.”

With consumers back to shopping in stores, many retail brands are looking to elevate the in-store experience, and having complete visibility into store inventory is crucial to achieving that,” said Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO of Radar. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the American Eagle brand so they can continue delivering an excellent customer experience.”

American Eagle upgrades POS system in stores

In other recent efforts to improve store-level operations, American Eagle replaced its existing POS solution at all American Eagle and Aeire stores with the Jumpmind Commerce POS software system. AEO plans to leverage the platform’s web user experience feature and microservices architecture to enable custom deployment and streamlined modification or upgrade, as needed.

In late 2022, AEO completed the conversion to Jumpmind Commerce POS in all of its American Eagle and Aerie stores in the U.S., with international deployment set for 2023.

At the end of its most recent third quarter, AEO had a total of 1,179 stores and more than 260 international locations operated by licensees in 26 countries.