Will COVID-19 Hasten the Adoption of Intelligent Robots?

The coronavirus has dealt a stunning blow to supply chains, logistics and fulfillment, shutting businesses and economies down and revealing many of the vulnerabilities they contain. Like other epidemics and pandemics, but unlike most other disasters we commonly encounter (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, fires, political unrest) that involve physical destruction of buildings and infrastructure, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on supply chains because it has knocked people out of the game. Factories, warehouses, fulfillment centers, vehicles and roads are not under water or caved in on themselves. They are withstanding COVID-19 just fine.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are falling ill globally, social distancing is the rule of the day and most non-essential businesses are temporarily (or permanently) closing their doors. Not surprisingly, consumers, sheltering in place, have quickly ramped up their online shopping. According to a consumer survey conducted by IDC from March 23-31, online shopping is up by 47%, with 35.4% expecting to spend more on retail, whether in store or online, because of COVID-19 concerns. Moreover, fears of scarcity as well as the ability to acquire goods are likely what’s behind a significant increase in bulk buying that goes well beyond toilet paper. Overall, 55.8% of consumers are loading up or expect to load up on bulk quantities of goods.