249: The Rise Of Robotics In Retail

As technology continues to evolve, the role of robotics in retail, hospitality, and customer service is becoming increasingly significant. Join Oliver Banks and delve into the influence of robotic automation and AI in different areas of customer-facing business operations, from maintaining stock integrity and cleaning to providing customer service and even cooking and making cocktails.

Listen to this podcast episode to:

• Explore the potential range of consumer-facing retail robotics – or those that could potentially be exposed to consumers, from the concept of a mobile supermarket that comes to you through to restaurant waiting staff.
• Consider how robots and AI could revolutionise customer service, with multilingual capabilities. hyper-personalised interactions and other value-added features.
• Understand the vital considerations for integrating robotics into businesses, balancing the efficiency of automation with the human response to these changes.

 

 

Examples of retail robots in the wild

Moby Mart is a mobile store that travels to meet customers. However, please note that this is from 2017 and the trial hasn’t been significantly expanded since.

Take a look at JD.com’s Ochama stores in the Netherlands. Opening in 2022, these stores automatically pick and pack orders for customers. They also encourage customers to see the robots at work.

Walmart ran a sizeable trial of around 500 stores in 2019 and 2020. However, they decided that this solution wasn’t for them and they reverted to using human colleagues once again.

In China, EV car company Jidu opened an automated store called the Roboverse. Appealing to tech-savvy consumers in a crowded market, shoppers interact with robots and technology throughout the customer journey as they explore their next potential car.

Navigate disruption with Oliver Banks

Oliver and OB&Co help retailers accelerate their transformation initiatives whilst successfully navigating disruption. Discover how together, you can drive your retail transformation forward.

Connect with and message Oliver Banks on LinkedIn or by email at oliver.banks@obandco.uk.

Listen to related podcast episodes

You should check out the other episodes exploring the rise of robotics across the retail industry. Firstly, in episode 246: The Rise Of Robotics In Warehouses, join Oliver and explore the most common robots in the retail industry. But there are many different technologies and various tasks that can be targeted.

In episode 247: The Rise Of Robotics In Transport, Oliver dives into the latest supply chain robotics, including shipping and trucking. Self-driving technologies are advancing at an incredible pace, and in this episode, discover if you should be making the tech and financial investment now.

And discover the range of innovative solutions that are being deployed for customer deliveries in episode 248: The Rise Of Robotics In Last Mile Deliveries. From small pods to self-driving cars and vans as well as sci-fi drones, there are effective ways to transport a parcel or item to a customer’s home or location. Discover which solution could be a good fit for you.

AI is an integral part of robotic systems and enables the advanced optimisation that they can deliver for maximising value. Take a listen to episode 224: 10 Thoughts On AI In Retail to reframe how you’re approaching this hot topic.