The richest Filipino, Henry Sy, will start deploying robots next 12 months to assist customers navigate his massive shopping malls.
Initially, the three androids can be deployed in the primary quarter of 2019 at SM Megamall, the country’s second-largest mall, said Steven Tan, chief operating officer of shopping malls for SM Prime Holdings Inc.
Says Tan said the talking bots will provide directions to the mall and data about promotions and events.
Megamall, one among the most important in Southeast Asia, covers an area of 477,000 square meters (5.1 million square feet), comparable to about 89 football pitches, and serves about 277,000 people every day, based on SM data. Tan said if the pilot is successful, the group will introduce the robots to SM North Edsa’s largest mall and other large shopping malls.
“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do, and we always strive to make your shopping experience pleasant and hassle-free,” Tan said.
SM’s three largest malls within the Philippines attract every day foot traffic comparable to 10% of Metro Manila’s 13 million population. SM’s 72 shopping centers across the country serve over 3.5 million customers day-after-day.
Sy, who emigrated from China’s Fujian Province and made his fortune from a shoe store he opened in Manila in 1948, expanded into shopping malls that housed his expanding retail stores within the Nineteen Eighties. According to Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines) Inc, an android supplier and manufacturer, the robots will use artificial intelligence technologies to supply information to customers through an interactive, seamless, real-time platform.
Source : Edge markets
