Three reasons why robots won’t be changing the face of retail any time soon

In recent years, the retail media has been fascinated by doomsday scenarios, prompting headlines like: “Will robots replace retail workers?”

Aiko Chihira is Japan’s latest humanoid robot employee to interact with customers. Dressed in a kimono, she greets shoppers of the Mitsukoshi flagship store in Tokyo with a bow at the entrance – common service etiquette in Japanese retail establishments.

Toshiba, which developed the robot, has high aspirations: “We are aiming to develop a robot that can gradually do what a human does”.

Robot store associates are nothing new and have been long involved in performing menial, automated back-end roles in retail. But when it comes to realistic humanoids, apart from creating PR buzz, it’s hard to see their added value.

Adverse effects

Three reasons why, we think, they will not be taking over customer-facing retail jobs in the near future are:

Off-puttingly high investment costs: it’s still cheaper to pay a person wages, not to mention maintenance costs for robots. Plus, smartphones (and increasingly wearable tech), are enabling shoppers to research, pay and check-out themselves.

Ineffective, rigid response, especially to ad-hoc situations: as of yet, robots still haven’t reached human levels in terms of reliable visual identification, creative intelligence or flexibility, so you still need human staff at their side.

Less than perfect interaction: robots are too literal – picture frustrated customers dealing with automated corporate phone attendant systems and then amplify it.

Interactive touch-points with customers contribute to their overall perception of the brand and negative experiences in retail environments where service (and personal, human touch) matters would adversely affect brand reputation and sales.

Cultural differences

That said, it is inevitable that retail tech will take distinct development paths in Western and Asian societies, which comes down to cultural differences that shape consumer behaviour and retail practices.

Western consumers generally place more emphasis on goal completion, efficiency and time-saving, as evidenced by the rise in self-service technology. It makes me question whether client-facing robots have a place in the West.

On the other hand, Asian consumers generally expect to be personally attended to, in part due to greater distance in the social hierarchy.

Unless there’s a paradigm shift, a future for bots - if technology takes a quantum leap - seems more likely in Asia.

• Christina Rosén, Associate analyst, Planet Retail