Intu shopping centres have rolled out a shopping robot called Bo in a trial to see how shoppers react to its presence.
As part of a drive to introduce new retail technologies from innovative startups, Intu has introduced a one metre-high “Shop Bot” in its Milton Keynes centre.
Europe’s first-ever shopping robot, created by BotsandUs, will interact with shoppers, direct them around the centre, collect user feedback and hand out in-store offers over the coming weekend.
“Retail has always been an inventive industry and the UK has remained at the forefront of this,” Intu chief executive David Fischel said.
“We’ve launched Intu Accelerate to drive forward innovative technology that will entertain and engage shoppers and help businesses to flourish.
“It’s giving talented new businesses like BotsandUs and WoraPay the opportunity to trial their ideas within live environments and test their potential to shape the future of retail.”
Other initiatives the shopping centre giant will be introducing as part of its accelerator programme include a queue-jumping technology from WoraPay.
In-store live streaming service GoInStore which The Retail Gazette recently reviewed, is also part of the initiative, alongside charity app Percent and community live chat facility Toky Woky.
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