Just when you thought things couldn't get any more futuristic, shoppers around NZ are sharing stories of running into a "robotic friend" during their trips to Kmart.
Tory is Kmart's inventory-counting robot, first introduced to stores across Aotearoa and Australia a couple of years ago - but they're just now making themselves known.
A post on a Kmart mums Facebook revealed plenty of people are having hilarious late night run-ins with Tory.
One contributor shared a photo of the in-store signage regarding the robot, which reads: "Whilst you're here, you may see our new robotic friend, Tory, roaming the aisles counting stock."
"No need to move out of Tory's way, they will go around you," the notice continued.
One commenter said they saw the new tech last year in Napier, explaining "Tory comes out around 11pm, lol. Freaked me out."
"Seen in Palmy a few times when I'm late night shopping," another member of the group said. "I complained to staff saying I thought someone was stalking me through the shop."
"This ran up to me in the aisle," a third said. "I got such a fright. I was ready to do a 'one, two, uppercut until I read a little sign around its neck saying it was counting stock."
One person told members to guess why the robot was called Tory, adding: "It's really obvious if you think about it."
While not confirmed by Kmart, it seems Tory could be a play on 'inventory', because of its job assessing stock levels - pretty clever, actually.
Despite being told "it only comes out at night", not everyone was scared of the robot, with one person saying "I just have to meet Tory now!" and another writing "I'm going to want to touch it," despite the Kmart signage asking shoppers not to.
So, are you team robot or would you like to stick to just humans on the shop floor?
Also, why do I get the feeling this is the kind of story people will read in 20 years and laugh?
