How automation will change retail

Robotic innovation has taken over the retail industry as grocers such as The Kroger Co. and Walmart ambitiously seek ways to reduce costs of online delivery and pressure from non-supermarket competition. 

However, some consumers may have negative reactions to the increase of robotic involvement within their shopping stores, ranging from feeling uncomfortable being near them to concerned that they will take over their jobs, and they are not completely wrong.

According to a report released by Oxford Economics, a global forecasting and quantitative analysis firm, machines are expected to displace about 20 million manufacturing jobs across the world over the next decade. 

Robot workers are becoming cheaper than many human workers, in part because of the falling costs of machines. The average unit price per robot has dropped 11% between 2011 and 2016, according to Oxford Economics, reported by CNN. They are increasingly capable of functioning in more sophisticated processes and varied contexts. On top of that, the demand for manufactured goods is rising.

To read the CNN Business article, click here.