A refrigerator appliance, as provided herein, may include a cabinet defining a chilled chamber, a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet, a camera module, and a controller. The camera module may be mounted to the cabinet. The controller may be operably coupled to the camera module. The controller may be configured to initiate an operation routine. The operation routine may include receiving a purchase invoice, initiating an item recognition sequence within the refrigerator appliance, generating an initial recognition attempt of a first stored item based on the item recognition sequence, comparing the initial recognition attempt of the first stored item to the purchase invoice, generating a modified recognition attempt of the first stored item based on the comparison of the initial recognition attempt the first stored item to the purchase invoice, and recording a descriptor of the first stored item to an inventory within the refrigerator appliance.