The technical potential for automation and the use of robotics varies dramatically across sectors and enterprises. One industry which has been disrupted by advanced robotics technology is retail.

As technology has advanced e-commerce, shopping has become an online activity, putting brick and mortar retail in exposure. While more and more shoppers are moving shopping online, brick-and-mortar stores still dictate.

How Robotics Are Shaping the Future of Retail

The technical potential for automation and the use of robotics varies dramatically across sectors and enterprises. One industry which has been disrupted by advanced robotics technology is retail.

As technology has advanced e-commerce, shopping has become an online activity, putting brick and mortar retail in exposure. While more and more shoppers are moving shopping online, brick-and-mortar stores still dictate.

Robots Will Be Part of the Retail Experience Sooner Than You Think

The utilization of robots has long been on the minds of marketers as a way of developing processes. Especially as brick and mortar stores are intimidated by online shopping, robotics could provide a way to lure customers back into physical stores. Traditional retailers are facing the question of whether or not investing in robots operating inside stores can improve business and help staying relevant to consumers.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, the number of industrial robots used worldwide will increase to approximately 2.6 million units by 2019. Also, the global robot market is expected to be worth $95 billion by the end of 2024 as compared to being $10.3 billion in 2015 (Transparency Market Research 2017).

What Role Does Robotics Play in Retail?

New research data from the U.S. Department of Commerce reveals that 93% of all U.S. retail sales still come from physical stores. As wages rise, retailers are trying to increase their margins by replacing workers with robots. The novelty factor of these robots could drive more foot traffic to these stores, especially if the robots improve customer service. But how exactly are robots influencing retail?

Robots are starting to change the shopping experience. Robots have essential uses for stores of any size: as information sources, as greeters or even as an internet-connected point-of-sale. Complementing human colleagues, they enable sales associates to have more nuanced interactions with customers, as the robot supports with immediate access to product and inventory details.

That said, typical cases of using robotics in retail today include in-store customer service, using robots to manage stores like warehouses and bringing the store to the customer. These three are also the primary robotics applications that should be of interest to retail business leaders.

We’ve seen robots in high street stores before, but the next generation is a different breed. Instead of shoddy apparatuses, these new retail bots can give insightful answers to customer queries, locate items, deliver orders and track inventories. Retailers are focusing on robotics that can provide support for consumers, but shipping and logistics companies have adopted the technology as well. For example, Citi estimates that Amazon has 30,000 robots in use in 13 warehouses. According to a recent MHI and Deloitte study, more than half of those in the supply chain and logistics industry believe that robotics and automation will provide their companies a competitive edge. According to the Wall Street Journal, that percentage is up from 39% in a similar survey conducted in 2015.

Initially, customer services robots will work alongside employees. However, as they gradually exceed the ability of their human counterparts, they will mostly replace them. As robots become more integrated with retail services, human employers and employees will yet again face the so-called Innovator’s Dilemma. Should they get on board with retail robots, or rely on traditional staff?

Which Jobs Will or Won’t Be Replaced by Machines?

Automation technologies such as robotics and machine learning play an increasingly prominent role in everyday living, and their possible effect on the workplace has lately gained attention and has become a focus of research. The discussion tends toward a guessing game: which jobs will or won’t be replaced by machines?

In the next decade automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely. However, it will affect portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the type of work they entail. Automation, now going beyond routine manufacturing activities, has the potential (at least about its technical utility) to transform sectors such as finance and healthcare, which involve a substantial share of knowledge work. According to Forrester (2017), robots will take more than 24 million jobs by 2027 but on the other hand, will create 14.9 million new jobs in the same period.

Retail and Beyond

Beyond retail, humanoid robots are fitting for other consumer-facing industries as well.  Examples such as serving as a concierge in hospitality or, reassuring patients in a doctor’s office, only touch the surface of robots’ capabilities in a consumer context.

One thing is evident; we will soon all have a chance to experience this futuristic technology in our favorite retail stores.

Cornfield & Partners can help you with market opportunities in automation and robotics. To find out more about potential business opportunities, contact info@cornfieldpartners.com or you can call us at +44 (0) 20 7692 0873.

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