Domo Arigato Mr Roboto: Retail robots take over

Robotics are set to change how shoppers interact with brands in-store. Next week, robots will take over the retail environment for the first time, with humanoid machines on hand at Uniqlo’s New York flagship store to greet shoppers and assist with their queries.

Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, these ‘Wakamura’ robots are capable of talking to customers and engaging in brief conversation. Alongside their customer duties, the machines will also conduct morning inspirational exercises with the existing human staff. Unmotivated and unhelpful customer assistants, beware: when robot sales assistants begin to take over, managers could start to re-assess what their human staff really offers to consumers.