Traditional retailers experiment with robot-driven customer assistance
Implications - Robotic retail assistants are emerging as traditional retailers begin to elevate customer experience with digital features. In addition to providing comprehensive, customized in-store service, robotic retail assistants can also serve as a fruitful introduction to the brand's e-commerce component of the business. Overall, this progression speaks to the naturalistic relationship between brick-and-mortar retailers and their online extensions.
Workshop Question - How could your stores leverage robotic technology to create an elevated customer experience?
Trend Themes
1. Robotic Retail Assistants - Traditional retailers are using robotic retail assistants to elevate customer experience with digital features as they serve as a fruitful introduction to the brand's e-commerce component of the business.
2. Connected Shopping - Connected shopping merges brick and mortars with online retail very smoothly, acting as a physical introduction to the brand's e-commerce sites and services.
3. Autonomous Retail Robots - Autonomous retail robots like the LoweBot offer great amounts of help to both customers and employees by answering basic questions, helping shoppers navigate the store and locate products in multiple languages, and offers real-time inventory monitoring technology which helps management to assess patterns in the retail environment as they happen.
Industry Implications
1. Retail Industry - The retail industry can innovate their customer service strategies by adopting robotic retail assistants, connected shopping experiences, and autonomous retail robots in their stores.
2. Technology Industry - The technology industry can explore new possibilities by developing robotic retail assistants, connected shopping applications, and autonomous retail robots for the retail industry.
3. Customer Experience Industry - The customer experience industry can explore incorporating robotic retail assistants and autonomous retail robots to enhance in-store experiences for customers and employees alike.
