Dynamic acceleration: Service robots in retail

Robotics and automation are of the most prominent technologies that will probably define how retail operates in the future. This statement is especially relevant in today’s industry conditions characterized by rising wages, severe increases in energy costs and smaller consumer spending across the world. Digitalization accelerated by the pandemic also forces retailers to turn towards technology to keep pace with their competitors. These businesses build on their dynamic capabilities to succeed. The purpose of this article is to analyse successful implementation of robotics in retail in the context of these dynamic capabilities. A key proposition we lay the foundation upon is that investing in dynamic capabilities has an overall positive impact on the implementation of robotic technologies to sustain the digital competitiveness of retail companies. Our document analysis focuses on 190 retail-based news articles about the application of service robots at retail companies from the complete news archives. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing customer experience, regardless of front-end or back-end activities all work towards this one outcome. The implementation examples also reveal that retailers rely heavily on robots in their effort to harmonize digital and physical environment. Looking at geographical differences, Asia is way ahead in front-end application of robots that contribute more directly to customer experience. Retailers in Europe and the United States follow a more balanced approach with many backend service robot applications. Having adopted a global research view, our findings are not only applicable for the whole sector but can be interpreted in a local context.