Ace Hardware has added an AI voice/text layer, called “Hey ARMA,” to ARMA, the long-standing handheld used by store associates. Rolled out in February, the tool serves up product recommendations, project guidance, and aisle-level inventory while associates are on the floor with customers. According to Forbes, it has handled more than 55,000 associate queries across 2,300+ stores. According to Forbes, it’s already handled more than 55,000 associate queries across 2,300+ stores, a meaningful early signal for a chain with 5,200 locations and a brand identity that lives or dies on being “helpful,” not just nearby.
The execution is less “robot retail” and more “confidence prosthetic.” Ace’s leadership frames a real human problem: associates may avoid customers because they’re afraid of getting stumped. Hey ARMA is meant to make them knowledgeable enough to approach, not hide behind endcaps. The dominant query patterns are bluntly practical: what is this, when can I get it, where is it, and how do I use it. Associates can also take photos of items to get answers or diagnoses.
CEO John Venhuizen’s turning-point test was deliberately vague and human: “thingamajig…from DAP…fix drywall without spackling and sanding.” The system answered in about 1.5 seconds with “DAP Eclipse,” which, per Forbes, convinced him “this thing’s got legs.”
Ace is also careful to position this as workforce investment, not workforce shrink. Venhuizen says customers won’t love Ace “because of great technology,” and argues the risk is less losing your job to AI than losing it to someone who knows how to leverage AI. Under the hood, the company describes the system as “plug and play,” with language models and image tools that can be swapped out as better options emerge. Forbes frames that as a cultural and architectural departure from how Ace has historically built technology, and at lower development cost.
What’s notably not in the early readout: proof that the AI layer improves transaction time, basket size, or loyalty. Forbes notes Ace will need those metrics as it expands toward its full 5,200-store footprint and tries to keep “neighborhood hardware” relevant in an era of same-day delivery.
Full story at Forbes.