Vera's reaction is exactly what retailers are looking for when investing in robots and other technological innovations, such as for example, payment by facial recognition and self-checkout – cashiers where the customer registers purchases and pays without the need to interact with any employee.

With fierce competition and the rise of online commerce, medium-sized supermarkets are investing in innovation to create new shopping experiences in physical stores and build customer loyalty. In the case of the Hirota chain, the company has been evaluating the use of autonomous robots for the past month. According to director Hélio Freddi, the plan is to have two robots in the Vila Monumento store, which serves as the company's headquarters and functions as a kind of laboratory. The goal is to have at least one unit in each of the other 17 stores in the chain.

Named Shyko (Chico in Japanese), the robot will have both customer service and operational functions. Marcio Akamine, IT manager of the chain, explains that in addition to helping customers find products in the store, the robot will gather customer data on its panel for later targeted offers. Shyko will also monitor product availability on the shelves, send online messages for restocking, and verify price labels against the system, especially in this period of high inflation when price changes are frequent.

Source: Estadão