Retail is hurting. Squeezed on one side by shrinking populations and demographic changes and on the other by the rise of ecommerce. However, walk into a Pepito’s Supermarket in Bali, and you’ll find a quiet revolution taking place.  Shoppers aren’t aimlessly wandering the aisles, they’re guided by a decentralised layer of spatial intelligence.

In a pilot project with Auki Labs, Pepito’s has become one of the first supermarkets in the world to roll out customer-facing product search and AR navigation, turning the in-store experience into something as seamless as online shopping.

Retail has been under pressure for years. As e-commerce perfected instant search, personalized recommendations, and effortless navigation, physical stores struggled to keep up: shoppers now expect the same clarity and speed in-store that they get online. Yet most supermarkets still rely on old-school signage and guesswork. At Pepito’s, that’s changing.

Using Auki’s decentralized spatial computing network, Pepito’s has mapped its store with centimeter-level precision. Every product, shelf, and aisle is digitally anchored in space, creating a “shared spatial layer” that allows customers to simply scan a QR code, search for an item on their phone, and follow AR arrows straight to it. Instant, intuitive customer experiences without the hurdle of an app download.

The results have been immediate. Shoppers find products faster. Basket sizes go up. And for the first time, Pepito’s gains intent-rich data about what customers are searching for, not just what they buy. That insight helps store managers optimize layouts, fix missing inventory, and even predict demand. It’s a powerful feedback loop that bridges the gap between physical retail and digital intelligence.

Beyond convenience, Pepito’s pilot points to something bigger: a new retail paradigm where spatial computing and decentralized infrastructure merge to make stores smarter, more adaptive, and more human-centered. Instead of chasing e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retailers can now compete on their own terms, blending digital precision with the tactile experience of shopping in person.

For Auki and Pepito’s, this is just the beginning. As the pilot expands, it hints at a future where every store, from supermarkets to hardware shops, is part of an interconnected spatial network. One where finding what you need is as simple as asking, and every aisle becomes intelligent.

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