How robots can help sports retailers

Smart robots like ISPO Digitize Favorite Pepper can improve the customer experience at the sports retailer. They welcome, entertain, sell, collect data and link the sales channels.

The white robot with the brightly colored eyes greets the customer at the store entrance. Then he reads in his customer card, asks for his wishes, offers him suitable products on his display, completes the payment and organizes the delivery to his home.

This could also be the case in the future at the stationary sports retailer. At least Nicolas Boudot, who provided an impressive demonstration of Robot Pepper's capabilities on the stage of the ISPO Digitize Summit, believes.

Robot delivers "unique customer experience"

"60 percent of customers still prefer to buy in stationary stores. And Pepper helps deliver a unique customer experience, "says the man from Softbank Robotics.

In fact, Pepper is also the darling at the ISPO Digitize Summit in Munich in the Entertainment Area. He reacts when you talk to him, shoots selfies with robots or even dances on request. Retailtainment is called the neo-German, ie entertainment when selling.

Robot as data collector

The shopping experience becomes more and more important as USP in competition with online trading. Nescafe has been successfully using the computer in its stores in Japan, as well as 800 customers in Europe. Of course, Pepper arrives at children naturally - but they are known to influence many buying decisions of their adult companions.

Boudot has observed that Pepper is sometimes even more openly encountered as a human employee. "As a customer, you know that you are communicating with an object and not with a salesperson that you may not be able to get rid of. You know that you are in control. "Therefore, potential buyers are also willing to reveal more information about themselves.

This is precisely what Pepper collects and then, for example, can provide exactly the age of the customer or the most frequently expressed product requests for a specific period of time, for example. Of course, this also helps stationary retailers - just like the linking of all online and offline sales channels by a robot.

Robot as a relief for employees

"The value of Pepper is also that you can present your own omnichannel strategy in the business," says Boudot. A robot that accompanies the customers individually on their shopping journey between online and offline worlds. Of course multilingual and customized.

Of course, Pepper does not make people in the brick-and-mortar business superfluous, Boudot emphasizes: "The employees can then focus much more on qualitative human-to-human interaction." The robot expert believes that sports retailers now also have intelligent helpers like Pepper in one must bring fast-changing shopping world into the boat, "otherwise it is too late."

Robotic and with warranty

Another advantage: According to Boudot, the robots are very resilient and come with a three-year warranty. If a sensor or a metal joint breaks, a new pepper will be delivered within 24 to 72 hours.

Incidentally, the technology specialists disguised in white plastic can also kick - albeit a bit clumsily. Incidentally, the world champion in the robot football championship became Germany. By the way, Pepper's appearance at the ISPO Digitize Summit caused some laughter in the audience ....