Lowe's Rolls Out LoweBot In San Francisco Stores

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

This next generation robot is designed to enhance the home improvement shopping experience.

Robots are taking on increasingly prominent roles in retail, from fulfillment to order-taking and even customer service. Lowes Innovation Labs began testing the potential of robotic employees two years ago in a Supply Hardware Store in San Jose, California, as Innovative Retail Technologies reported. Now, Lowes is ready to roll out a fleet of the LoweBots to 11 stores  in the San Francisco area over the next seven months.

The beta test used OSHbot robots designed to replicate the duties of human sales associates, including guiding customers to products, providing detailed product information, and relaying information regarding in-store special offers and product availability. OSHbots are programmed with language capabilities allowing them to converse with customers of all cultures and ethnicities.  “We developed autonomous retail service robot technology to be an intuitive tool customers can use to ask for help, in their preferred language, and expect a consistent experience,” explained executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, Kyle Nel.

CEO of Fellow Robots, Marco Mascorro stated, “With OSHbot, we’ve worked closely with Lowe’s Innovation Labs to take autonomous retail service robot technology out of the sandbox and into the consumer market – enhancing the in-store consumer experience and creating smarter shoppers.”

LoweBot is a NAVii autonomous robot, and its implementation will serve as a test to see how well the robots can meet the needs of both customers and employees. "For nearly two years, we've studied how robots in our San Jose Orchard Supply Hardware store can help customers more effectively navigate the store to find products and assist employees with inventory scanning," Nel, "Now, we are taking those learnings and applying them to a focused group of Lowe's stores to see how the technology supports a broader customer and employee base."

Lowe’s has committed itself to delivering simpler and more seamless interactions with its customers in an effort to move the future of retail forward. The Lowe’s Innovation Labs is just one piece of that commitment that is tasked with exploring ways to meet changing customer expectations and better serve the customers of the future.

"We designed the NAVii robot to make the shopping experience easier for consumers – simplifying the process of finding the product you're looking for – while also managing the back-end and keeping shelf inventory up-to-date for the retailer," said Marco Mascorro, chief executive officer of Fellow Robots. "Leaving the data and simple recommendations to NAVii allows Lowe's employees to devote their attention to the Lowe's customer, to provide them with thoughtful advice and personalized service."