Intu deploys retail robot at major UK mall

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 20, 2017

Shopping centres giant Intu on Friday deployed Bo, a shop-bot, at its Milton Keynes mall with the robot set to interact with shoppers, direct them to different parts of the centre and ask them about their shopping experience. It can also tell them about special offers they can take up at different stores in the centre. 

The one-metre-high Bo was made by robotics specialist BotsAndUs and is claimed to be Europe’s very first shopping centre robot. It comes at a time when much of the new technology being introduced around retail is happening online rather than at physical stores, despite predictions of a robot revolution in-store.

BotsAndUs is actually one of seven start-up businesses collaborating with the company to test a wide range of new retail tech at its physical centres and online.

The shopping centre company is trialling queue-jumping tech with WoraPay at Intu Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester in partnership with several of the shopping centre’s cafés and coffee shops including Leon and Shake Lab. It allows customers to order and pay for their purchases on their phone as they shop and then collect them when they are ready.

It’s all part of the Intu Accelerate initiative that is running for 10 weeks. Intu CEO David Fischel said: “Retail has always been an inventive industry and the UK has remained at the forefront of this. We’ve launched Intu Accelerate to drive forward innovative technology that will entertain and engage shoppers and help businesses to flourish.”

Other companies taking part include GoInStore, which uses physical retail spaces to drive up web traffic and orders by creating live in-store video experiences for online customers. Then there’s Toky Woky, a community-based live-chat facility where anyone who is browsing in an online store can receive real time advice from fellow shoppers.