Should In-Store Robots Be Hired or Fired?

A new survey of over 400 U.S. shoppers who have visited retailers with in-store robots in the past three months found the majority — particularly those who shop more frequently — cited a “positive affinity and strong preference for robots” in stores.

The survey commissioned by robot-maker Simbe found:

• Only 4% of shoppers have a negative opinion of retail robots, with the majority (77%) viewing them positively and 96% expressing a positive or neutral attitude overall.
• Most shoppers see retailers using in-store robots as innovative (84%) and expanding businesses (80%) that prioritize customer experience (76%).
• Shopper approval of in-store retail robots remains high with repeated exposure — 100% of those who enjoyed seeing a robot once continued to feel the same after three or more sightings.
• Regular shoppers have an even stronger preference for in-store robots, with their approval 29% higher than that of less frequent shoppers.
• Over half of consumers (61%) say they are more likely to shop at stores featuring in-store robots.

Simbe’s autonomous item-scanning robot, Tally, enables retailers to gain visibility into near real-time store and shelf conditions to help overcome issues such as inconsistent pricing, confusing promotions, and low or out-of-stock (OOS) inventory. In a press release from 2020, Simbe shared that Tally offers 14 times the out-of-stock detection rate compared to manual audits and achieves at least a 20% decrease in out-of-stock items for stores using the system.

At the Stop & Shop, Food Lion, and Giant Food banners owned by Ahold Delhaize, Marty the robot, known for its googly eyes, started rolling out in 2019 at stores to spot and alert workers to potential floor hazards and spills. Later on, it also began detecting when items were misplaced or needed restocking.

Almost a year after debuting Marty, Stop & Shop posted on social media that the robot spots, on average, nearly 40 spills or other potential hazards in each store daily.

The Cobi 18 autonomous floor cleaning robots from ICE Cobotics clean 5,000 to 7,000 square feet per hour and have been deployed in recent years at RaceTrac, Kum & Go, Phillips 66’s, J&H Family Stores, and other C-stores.

Last year, Amazon introduced Astro for Business, a version of its household security robot for retailers and other businesses. The roving robots provided visibility on blind spots beyond existing stationary cameras. However, the retailer discontinued the device just seven months after launch.

Several columns over the years have been written about the disruptions robots are causing as they increasingly patrol shopping aisles. A Mashable column from 2019 claimed that robots were adding “unprecedented levels of anxiety and absurdity” to the shopping experience.

A recent U.S. Sun article exploring Tally’s rollout at BJ’s called out one customer complaint on Facebook, which stated that the inventory robot “just rolls around whistling like a psychopath in a horror movie.” Responses to the Facebook post generally agreed that in-store robots are “annoying” and “creepy.”

The threat to jobs is also referenced in discussions around robots, although many note that in-store robots promise to free associates from repetitive tasks such as counting inventory or mopping to tackle customer-facing activities.

In-store robot makers contend robots are being welcomed by customers.

Toby Pickard, Retail Futures Senior Partner at the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), said the findings from Simbe’s new survey align “with what I have previously heard from CEOs and store managers that have Tally in-store. I have been told that Tally is helping drive footfall to stores, as the robot brings joy and excitement to their shopping trips, especially shoppers with children.”

Karen Mitchell, chief marketing officer and senior vice president with Stop & Shop, noted at a recent Omni Talk Retail virtual event that the grocer is looking to leverage Marty’s increasing popularity, particularly with children, by bringing the robot out to community events.

She said, “Not everybody loves him today either. People still roll their eyes or whatever from time to time, but he really is becoming more and more of a staple for Stop & Shop and a trusted part of our community and I think now’s the time to really start to leverage him.”