Smarter store labor: Six key benefits of retail robots

Whoever first said, "retail is detail," must surely have been thinking about food-drug-mass retailing in the U.S.

The U.S. retail industry is the largest private-sector employer, with Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures indicating 15.2 million people worked across all retail sectors as of 2023. 

The grocery retail industry alone employs 5.5 million people to operate 5.5 million supermarkets, according to BLS data, while general merchandise and health/personal care sectors employ another 3.3 million and 1 million, respectively.

Together, these three sectors account for nearly 10 million jobs. Retail workers manage inventory across vast store networks, ensuring products are in the right location, in the right quantity, at the correct prices. 

This task involves overseeing tens of thousands of items daily. According to estimates, 1.4 trillion store-item combinations are managed daily in supermarkets alone.

While retail jobs are critical, they come with challenges. Workers often perform repetitive tasks that require constant attention, which can lead to mistakes and fatigue. For example, managing shelf voids or detecting pricing errors can be difficult, even for experienced workers.

Retail robots amplify human potential

The retail industry faces labor challenges, including a high turnover rate of 2.5% per month, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On top of that, a 2021 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that nearly 90% of employers struggled to fill open positions, with 73% noting a decrease in applications for hard-to-fill roles. 

This could be because traditional tasks like cleaning and data collection are monotonous and subject to declining quality as shifts progress. 

In contrast, robots perform repetitive tasks, like collecting shelf data and maintaining cleanliness, with consistency and precision. They can cover an entire retail store several times a day without tiring or losing focus. By automating these routine tasks, store workers are better deployed to higher-value roles, such as customer service and merchandising. 

Tim Prieve is senior director of strategic accounts, Brain Corp.

[READ MORE: Exclusive Q&A: Retailers deploy robots across the enterprise]

Six key labor benefits

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) improve productivity and job satisfaction for retail workers. The technology is well-proven, safe, cost-effective, and delivers valuable data that helps streamline operations.

Deploying AMRs for merchandise data capture and floor maintenance benefits both retail teams and shoppers in six key ways:

1. Improve job satisfaction & productivity: AMRs handle repetitive tasks like floor cleaning and merchandising spot checks, allowing workers to focus on activities that require human interaction, physical skills, and problem-solving ingenuity.
2. Ease hiring & reduce turnover: Employees are more satisfied when their work feels meaningful. In fact, 27% of retail employees surveyed by McKinsey reported they would leave their job because of “boring” or “uninteresting” work, so automation helps improve retention and recruitment.
3. Better merchandising outcomes: Robots ensure accurate shelf status data, including out-of-stocks, mislocated items, and missing or incorrect price tags. Armed with this reliable information, retailers and their vendor partners are better positioned to maintain on-shelf availability and promotional compliance.
4. Cleaner, safer stores: Autonomous floor cleaners help maintain cleanliness, allowing maintenance workers to focus on store safety and systems operations.
5. Elevate shopper experience: With less time spent on repetitive tasks, associates are better able to maintain physical inventory at the shelves, which improves service levels. They’re also more available for customer-facing activities. Shoppers perceive excellent on-shelf availability and staff availability as crucial attributes of their in-store experience.
6. Fortify operations amidst labor shortages: In times of labor shortages or absenteeism, AMRs are reliable partners for maintaining operational efficiency. By handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks, robots allow teams to do more with fewer resources, ensuring that productivity and service levels remain high despite staffing challenges.

In fact, retailers like Walmart are already seeing improvements in operational efficiency and customer experience by implementing AMRs in stores.

New ways of working

The adoption of AMRs continues to gain momentum, as more retailers recognize the value of accurate, consistent data collection from robots that streamline store labor, automate work activities, and elevate the work performed by store associates.

Integrating robots into the workforce will also require reskilling workers, with the potential to redesign jobs in a way that leverages both human and machine strengths.