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Robots in retail: Rolling out the Whiz

Author

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  • Aric Rindfleisch

    (University of Illinois)

  • Nobuyuki Fukawa

    (Missouri University of Science & Technology)

  • Naoto Onzo

    (Waseda University)

Abstract

Robots are increasingly being employed in retail settings to accomplish a wide variety of tasks. In the years ahead, it is expected that most retailers will employ robots in some capacity and that these robots will alter the role of employees and change the nature of customer experience. However, since this revolution is in its early stages, scholarship in this domain is largely forward looking in nature and focused on the future rather than the present. Our research seeks to enrich and extend this literature by examining a recent robot deployment (i.e., the Whiz) across a large Japanese retail chain (i.e., Daiei). Specifically, we report an interview with executives from both Daiei as well as Softbank Robotics (the manufacturer of the Whiz). This interview touches upon a number of interesting topics including, how this robot is currently being deployed, how employees and customers are responding to this robot, and how it impacts store operations and retailer performance. We then reflect upon this interview to offer a set of future research directions. Our article is also accompanied by a commentary by Guha and Grewal (2022, in this issue) that offers additional insights into robots in retail.

Suggested Citation

  • Aric Rindfleisch & Nobuyuki Fukawa & Naoto Onzo, 2022. "Robots in retail: Rolling out the Whiz," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 238-244, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:amsrev:v:12:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s13162-022-00240-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s13162-022-00240-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Subero-Navarro, à urea & Pelegrín-Borondo, Jorge & Reinares-Lara, Eva & Olarte-Pascual, Cristina, 2022. "Proposal for modeling social robot acceptance by retail customers: CAN model + technophobia," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Shankar, Venkatesh & Kalyanam, Kirthi & Setia, Pankaj & Golmohammadi, Alireza & Tirunillai, Seshadri & Douglass, Tom & Hennessey, John & Bull, J.S. & Waddoups, Rand, 2021. "How Technology is Changing Retail," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 13-27.
    3. Noble, Stephanie M. & Mende, Martin & Grewal, Dhruv & Parasuraman, A., 2022. "The Fifth Industrial Revolution: How Harmonious Human–Machine Collaboration is Triggering a Retail and Service [R]evolution," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 199-208.
    4. Grewal, Dhruv & Gauri, Dinesh K. & Roggeveen, Anne L. & Sethuraman, Raj, 2021. "Strategizing Retailing in the New Technology Era," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 6-12.
    5. Bernd Schmitt, 2020. "Speciesism: an obstacle to AI and robot adoption," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 3-6, March.
    6. Markus Blut & Cheng Wang & Nancy V. Wünderlich & Christian Brock, 2021. "Understanding anthropomorphism in service provision: a meta-analysis of physical robots, chatbots, and other AI," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 632-658, July.
    7. Abhijit Guha & Dhruv Grewal, 2022. "How robots will affect the future of retailing," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 245-252, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Abhijit Guha & Dhruv Grewal, 2022. "How robots will affect the future of retailing," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 245-252, December.
    2. Grewal, Dhruv & Benoit, Sabine & Noble, Stephanie M. & Guha, Abhijit & Ahlbom, Carl-Philip & Nordfält, Jens, 2023. "Leveraging In-Store Technology and AI: Increasing Customer and Employee Efficiency and Enhancing their Experiences," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(4), pages 487-504.

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