Lowe's Introduces LoweBot to Stores

Lowe's is about to debut its latest addition to its store associate team. This fall, the home improvement retailer will introduce LoweBot, a NAVii autonomous retail service robot. LoweBot make its debut in 11 stores throughout the San Francisco Bay area. According to CNBC, "the robots, made by Fellow Robots, use a 3-D scanner to detect people as they enter into stores." In addition, the kiosk-like robots will help shoppers search for merchandise, navigate the store and check for stock availability. LoweBot will be available in several Lowe's stores over the next seven months, starting in early September.

Total Retail's Take: Chloe, Tally and LoweBot … oh my! It looks like robot retail is here. Anxious to streamline the in-store experience to more of a digital-first mind-set, Lowe's has prioritized digital within the last year. LoweBot adds a new level of personalization for the big-box retailer. While it seems Lowe's has created an employee that can never call out sick, its purpose looks to be more store associate assistant. With kiosk capabilities, LoweBot offers Lowe's employees an opportunity help customers find merchandise and prices more quickly while creating a unique in-store experience. To me, robots seems a little too "Minority Report," but analysts agree that they're here to stay.