As in-store retail robots are increasingly spotted in the aisles of top retailers, a recent independent survey measured consumer perceptions of both Simbe’s “Tally” robot and Badger’s “Marty” robot – and how these robots’ presence impacts the way shoppers feel about the retailer deploying them. For many across America, this is their first introduction to robots in public spaces.
Conducted by Diagnostic Measurement, the study surveyed 400 shoppers across the U.S. who frequent stores where Simbe’s Tally and Badger’s Marty (aka Barney) are deployed.
The results swing in Simbe’s favor:
- Approximately 2.5X more shoppers prefer the design of Simbe’s Tally over Badger’s Marty. (57% vs 22%)
- Shoppers of stores where Simbe’s Tally is present are more likely to shop more with their respective retailer.
- Simbe’s Tally is over 50% more likely to positively impact shoppers’ overall retailer perception than Badger’s Marty. (65% vs 42%)
- The majority of shoppers who see Marty would prefer to see a different robot in the future. (59%)
As the friendliest and first autonomous shelf-scanning robot, one of the primary drivers of the highly positive response toward Tally is its human-centered design. This is demonstrated by Tally’s significantly greater impact on positive emotions like inspiration, happiness, and joy. Simbe intentionally designed Tally to be shy and unobtrusive with great “manners.”
Tally is also loved by store teams because it is today’s most accurate, cost-effective, and scalable in-store robot. In fact, a 2024 survey showed that 90% of store managers don’t want to do their jobs without Tally.
