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July 3 2023

Looking to escape the summer heat with a bit of retail therapy? If so, you might encounter some new additions to your local shopping environs. Whether at a mall or big box retail store, autonomous robots are increasingly turning up in a variety of roles.

All about the floors

Malls and other retail facilities are huge. The average mall covers at least 200,000 square feet of floor space, with some big box stores only slightly behind. That’s a lot of space to clean regularly, and reliable janitorial staff can be hard to find since this sector has been hit by the same labor shortages seen across the service industry in recent years. 

That’s why enterprising mall and retail operators have started looking towards automation to help clean the miles of flooring walked by shoppers each day. New floor cleaning robots like CC1 and CC3 can clean football fields worth of flooring each day without breaking a sweat. 

The CC1 is great on both hard floors and low-pile carpets, making it a versatile solution for a mall’s varied retail spaces. With four cleaning modes, it can vacuum, sweep, scrub and mop just about any space that needs attention. The CC3 is an industrial-grade floor scrubbing robot for most types of hard flooring, perfect for keeping those endless corridors sparkling. Its large capacity and long battery life make it supremely efficient at its job. In fact, while an experienced human cleaner can cover a bit over 1,000 square feet per hour, the CC3 can clean 20 times as much over the same period. 

Both BoTs automatically charge themselves and can empty dirty water and self-fill with clean water, keeping human intervention to a minimum. Advanced object avoidance technology means they are safe to operate around shoppers and throughout the facility, 24/7. Plus, detailed cleaning reports provided by the BoTs mean you know exactly what was cleaned and when. 

Keeping shoppers safe

While Covid-19 is no longer a big worry for a majority of shoppers, the pandemic did place a renewed focus on keeping communal spaces as clean and sanitized as possible. Seasonal illness outbreaks are a perennial concern, and tend to peak during times that also see high mall and retail traffic, such as the November-December holiday period. 

One way malls and other retail spaces are taking control of environmental health on a macro scale is through the use of advanced autonomous disinfection robots. BoTs like Puductor 2 and BubbleFish are capable of sanitizing large indoor areas with extremely high efficacy, keeping germs at bay and ensuring peace of mind for shoppers and staff. 

The Puductor 2 is a revolutionary autonomous disinfection system that uses a combination of UV-C and 360° ultrasonic dry-mist to eliminate 99.9% of pathogens from indoor air and surfaces. This same type of disinfection technology is being adopted by hospitals nationwide, and it’s now accessible to facilities in every industry thanks to advances in autonomous robotics. The Puductor 2’s remote and autonomous operation means that it can be safely run overnight without human assistance, which is important as people should avoid contact with powerful UV-C light. In fact, built-in safety programming halts the production of UV-C light if humans are detected in the BoT’s vicinity. When used to distribute dry-mist, it’s 100% people-safe, and easily maneuvers through busy environments thanks to advanced object avoidance technology. 

BubbleFish is a much more compact but very powerful dry-mist only robot. This affordable and convenient BoT is completely safe to operate around people, and uses 360° ultrasonic dry-mist to sanitize the environment. Its small size, nimble maneuvering and affordability make it a great option for large and small retail spaces. 

Helping and Advertising

Have you noticed that mall directories seem to be a thing of the past? With most shoppers turning to their phones to locate stores and facility maps, physical mall directories have quietly been phased out over the years. But whether you’re visiting a new city or just haven’t been shopping for a while, sometimes you need help finding where to go once inside a vast shopping center. 

New interactive robots developed specifically for human assistance are already quite popular overseas, and you’ll start seeing them more and more in the US. The future of mall directories and guest services, these autonomous robots can assist shoppers with wayfinding and guiding, answer questions about the facility, and even act as mobile billboards, directing shoppers to sales and events. 

KettyBoT, for instance, is a versatile robot assistant equipped with voice interaction and large video display for advertising and announcements. KettyBoT can be mapped with specific locations and starting points, acting as an interactive tour guide and wayfinding assistant for shoppers seeking particular destinations. The large front display can be set to show ads, announce special events or sales or offer directions. In “customer attraction mode,” KettyBoT will seek out shoppers to advertise and announce information to. 

TemiBoT is an AI-powered interactive customer care virtuoso with a number of features to assist shoppers. TemiBoT can greet and guide customers to various locations and interact using facial and voice recognition. Responsive to human speech, TemiBoT can act as a tour guide or guest services assistant, answering questions and providing real-time information. Retail stores can also utilize TemiBoT’s integration capabilities for point-of-sale, shopper loyalty programs, returns assistance and more. 

Automating is future-proofing

While Americans’ thirst for shopping knows few bounds, it’s no secret that malls, shopping centers and big box stores are under constant pressure to stay current with frequent renovations and reinventions. Embracing new and increasingly popular robotic technologies can help retail centers stay on the cutting edge. From cleaning and safety to customer engagement, autonomous robots are a natural fit for the shopping environment. With strong benefits in terms of efficiency, cost savings and shopper satisfaction, don’t be surprised to see robots “working” at the mall very soon.

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