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Will the Robotics Push Transform the Retail Paradigm?
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It seems big retailers are increasingly showing their inclination toward robotics and technology to stay abreast in the retail war. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is the latest to follow suit by rolling out a robot workforce across 50 of its stores in the United States. The retail giant is testing these robots to check if these are faster and better in handling store inventory than humans.
Of course, the likes of Walmart has now introduced what online e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) had pioneered years ago but now the race to automate is clearly heating up and the huge investments in robotics companies are paying off. Retail giants like Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) and Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW - Free Report) have also been giving their robots a trial run to track inventory at its stores for a while now.
Understandably, an increasing number of retailers are testing robots and the idea is to not only manage store inventory more efficiently but also to check if they come at a price cheaper than human labor.
Amazon Shows the Way
Amazon certainly has changed the entire ballgame in the last few years by bridging the gap between traditional and online retail. The biggest move made by the company in this regard was the $13.7-billion acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017.
However, it was Amazon’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012 that was perhaps a more transformative one. Amazon had well-chalked out plans and knew what it would do with this acquisition. The deal gave Amazon an army of robots that could zip through its warehouses, scan inventory, segregate stuff and fulfill shipping requests at rocket speed.
By 2014, Kiva was completing the ‘click to ship’ cycle in just 15 minutes compared with the 60-75 minutes required by humans. Since this buyout, Amazon has entered into corporate and academic partnerships to support innovation throughout its robotics’ systems.
Amazon now has robots at its fulfillment centers across the world, which is increasingly taking over its shipping activities. Needless to say, Amazon depends a lot on robots for ensuring on-time delivery, customer convenience and saving on costs. This initiative has led other brick-and-mortar retail giants to test robots.
Walmart Follows Amazon’s Footsteps
Walmart has been going all out to catch up with Amazon. The company has started testing robots in 50 of its stores across the United States. The six-feet-tall robots, built by Bossa Nova Robotics, which resemble vacuum cleaners with sleek, small towers check if the shelves are properly stocked and correctly price tagged. Given their ability to scan shelves at a faster pace than humans, Walmart might find the bots a better choice than human workers, who could be freed up for offering greater customer satisfaction – an area that is of utmost importance to retailers.
According to John Crecelius, Walmart’s vice president of innovation, the partnership with Bossa Nova Robotics is not just intended at increasing efficiency inside the store. The idea is to enhance performance and service to customers also.
Target and Lowe too have been testing robots in physical stores for handling jobs like scanning shelves. This Zack Rank #3 company uses the robotics service of Simbe Robotics to help scan aisles. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Lowe too has been using the NAVii autonomous robot from Fellow Robots to scans inventories and guide customers to desired products.
So robots are not just making customers feel involved, these are clearly showing retailers efforts to save time and costs.
Retail Makeover
The retail space flows with the tide and must adapt to changing tastes and preferences. The flux that was so long felt prominently in products is now showing up in its services. The robots speak volumes when it comes to the revolutionary change in retail. How far these influence their financial performance and to what extent the investments bear fruit should be interesting to watch.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
Image: Bigstock
Will the Robotics Push Transform the Retail Paradigm?
It seems big retailers are increasingly showing their inclination toward robotics and technology to stay abreast in the retail war. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is the latest to follow suit by rolling out a robot workforce across 50 of its stores in the United States. The retail giant is testing these robots to check if these are faster and better in handling store inventory than humans.
Of course, the likes of Walmart has now introduced what online e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) had pioneered years ago but now the race to automate is clearly heating up and the huge investments in robotics companies are paying off. Retail giants like Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) and Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW - Free Report) have also been giving their robots a trial run to track inventory at its stores for a while now.
Understandably, an increasing number of retailers are testing robots and the idea is to not only manage store inventory more efficiently but also to check if they come at a price cheaper than human labor.
Amazon Shows the Way
Amazon certainly has changed the entire ballgame in the last few years by bridging the gap between traditional and online retail. The biggest move made by the company in this regard was the $13.7-billion acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017.
However, it was Amazon’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012 that was perhaps a more transformative one. Amazon had well-chalked out plans and knew what it would do with this acquisition. The deal gave Amazon an army of robots that could zip through its warehouses, scan inventory, segregate stuff and fulfill shipping requests at rocket speed.
By 2014, Kiva was completing the ‘click to ship’ cycle in just 15 minutes compared with the 60-75 minutes required by humans. Since this buyout, Amazon has entered into corporate and academic partnerships to support innovation throughout its robotics’ systems.
Amazon now has robots at its fulfillment centers across the world, which is increasingly taking over its shipping activities. Needless to say, Amazon depends a lot on robots for ensuring on-time delivery, customer convenience and saving on costs. This initiative has led other brick-and-mortar retail giants to test robots.
Walmart Follows Amazon’s Footsteps
Walmart has been going all out to catch up with Amazon. The company has started testing robots in 50 of its stores across the United States. The six-feet-tall robots, built by Bossa Nova Robotics, which resemble vacuum cleaners with sleek, small towers check if the shelves are properly stocked and correctly price tagged. Given their ability to scan shelves at a faster pace than humans, Walmart might find the bots a better choice than human workers, who could be freed up for offering greater customer satisfaction – an area that is of utmost importance to retailers.
According to John Crecelius, Walmart’s vice president of innovation, the partnership with Bossa Nova Robotics is not just intended at increasing efficiency inside the store. The idea is to enhance performance and service to customers also.
Target and Lowe too have been testing robots in physical stores for handling jobs like scanning shelves. This Zack Rank #3 company uses the robotics service of Simbe Robotics to help scan aisles. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Lowe too has been using the NAVii autonomous robot from Fellow Robots to scans inventories and guide customers to desired products.
So robots are not just making customers feel involved, these are clearly showing retailers efforts to save time and costs.
Retail Makeover
The retail space flows with the tide and must adapt to changing tastes and preferences. The flux that was so long felt prominently in products is now showing up in its services. The robots speak volumes when it comes to the revolutionary change in retail. How far these influence their financial performance and to what extent the investments bear fruit should be interesting to watch.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>