Robots Consumer Insights

Trend - Companies are creating robots that provide solutions to enforce social distancing guidelines, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The various robots can provide reminders, stand-in for interactions, or even complete jobs typically done by people.

Insight - Due in part to the outbreak of COVID-19, consumers are taking more of an active interest in workplace measures that are designed to protect the health and safety of employees. This same group of consumers may value brands that take workplace safety responsibilities seriously.

Trend - Emerging from the prototyping stages for safety and efficacy, tech companies are beginning to implement their robotic innovations more broadly in the setting of hospitals. These robots have the capacity to support doctors during a procedure or by checking in on patients, replicating duties that are typically carried out by nurses.

Insight - Human activity can benefit from technological assistance as the intervention allows users to focus on the more important aspects of a job. Consumers become interested in such innovations, especially when it comes to the healthcare industry where precision and efficiency are prioritized for the peace of mind of all parties involved. As a result, the use of technology satisfies consumer needs which pertain to accuracy, safety, and even reassurance.

Trend - Designers and artists are looking into the extent to which modern machines and algorithms can comfort and provide solace to human beings in the tech age. Whether it is through mimicking a bodily quality or evoking a sensation, these products are an exploration or considered to alleviate anxiety.

Insight - The tech age has made consumers vastly curious about their developing relationship with machinery. Many become alienated as social media fades the immediate need for face-to-face contact, while immersive technology, broadcasting media and new forms of entertainment can have a tendency to overstimulate. Many are interested in exploring the possibilities of finding comfort in technology, which is a desire driven vastly by a curiosity about the discovery of new possibilities.

Trend - Brands are creating high-tech products to aid current human capabilities. Drones, robotics, and AI are all playing a key role in the progression of the construction industry. This new shift within infrastructure development will allow humans to work alongside technology to create cities of the future in safer environments.

Insight - Fast and reliable construction is at a high demand to keep up with urban growth. Given Millennials are the largest generation in North America, and many of them aspire to metropolitan lifestyles, the rapid pace of infrastructure development will continue. Ultimately, the Millennial generation is seeking ways to maintain their inherent motivations, despite aging into a new phase of their lives.

Trend - In recent years, we've seen the use of image analysis and processing expanding to better connect people to the products they seek within a retail capacity. Today, this has evolved to a place where image recognizing artificial intelligence is now being leveraged in app form for entertainment purposes.

Insight - Today's consumer is used to a fast-moving world, and with that, they are more open to fully curated offerings from brands. This is especially prevalent where more lighthearted forms of entertainment are concerned, as youth consumers in particular consume this kind of content with expectations of instant gratification.

Trend - The incorporation of human-like robots into retail spaces has enhanced efficiency and workflow. In addition to enhancing productivity, these assistive robots are able to create experiential purchase journeys for customers.

Insight - Many contemporary consumers demand that their retail experience is supported with accessible customer service for added convenience—especially when it comes to shopping trips that are perceived more as a necessity than as an entertaining way of passing the time. In such environments, consumers feel less prone to stress out as they have access and trust to omnipresent support, with significant capabilities to answer their questions and streamline their experience.

Implications - As drone use continues to increase in popularity and functionality, some drone makers are releasing offerings distinguished by their indestructibility. These products cater to consumers that might be cautious of investing in drone technology for fear of breaking the device. In doing so, drone makers are further contributing to the widespread accessibility and adoption of drone use.

Implications - As creatively inclined robotics become more commonplace, they are being utilized to take on challenges in manufacturing across industries to produce feats in construction, fashion and more. Able to work with tricky materials and adapt to different demands and conditions, emerging robot technology is increasingly relied upon as a resourceful production asset that also acts as a draw for consumers looking for uniquely manufactured products.

Implications - Reframing day-to-day challenges to seem less intimidating, satirical comedy is being incorporated into helpful apps and assistive robotics, making the transition into adulthood more manageable for the Millennial demographic. Already heavily reliant on technology, Millennials entering this responsibility-laden stage of their lives are practically forming relationships with their trusted tech companions, looking for devices that not only help them in their day-to-day, but also alleviate some of their stress and anxiety through humor and personality.

Implications - Robotics, particularly those intended for the home, are being designed in a way that establishes them as more of an in-home personal assistant than anything else. This occurs not only through the seamlessness with which they help users, but also with the humanization that comes with voice-control and activation. This speaks to consumers' openness to the integration of technology into their everyday lives as a means to more convenience.