Can robots save the High Street?

The decline of the High Street due to the rise of ecommerce and changing consumer behaviors is evident, with traditional retail spaces becoming vacant or transformed into other businesses. However, the solution to reviving the High Street lies in utilizing robots. 

Local warehouses served by robots could bridge the gap between online and physical retail, offering solutions to challenges like high return rates. This approach enhances customer choices by enabling in-person returns and reduces costs for businesses, as well as their carbon footprint. Automation with robots in warehouses can significantly improve efficiency and fulfillment processes, but there’s a gap between the perceived benefits and actual adoption by retailers.

The integration of robots and AI presents an opportunity to reshape the High Street, allowing microfulfillment centers to operate in repurposed spaces. This concept enhances convenience for consumers, reducing waiting times for products and simplifying returns.

Read the original Logistics Voices article here.

“The potential to use robots and AI to reimagine the High Street has never been better positioned than it is currently. A micro fulfilment centre could exist on the top floor of a former large store that no longer has use for so much space. In this reimagined store, a myriad of opportunities is created for the vendor to upsell and for the customer to experience a higher convenience of shopping.”