An increasing number of companies are using service robots, such as physical robots and virtual chatbots, to interact with their customers. Service robots are autonomous agents with the purpose of providing services to customers by performing a variety of physical and nonphysical tasks (Joerling et al., 2019). Conceptual work has suggested that social robots will increasingly be used in the front line of service encounters (Gonzalez-Jimenez, 2018; Van Doorn et al., 2017). Real examples of the inclusion of these robots in retail settings already exist. For instance, some retailers use Softbank´s robot Pepper to greet and inform customers. Social robots such as Pepper can use their sensors and cameras to interpret customer reactions and adapt accordingly. Moreover, the robot can even make product recommendations based on the assessed customer´s mood, age, gender and, if available, purchase history (McKenna, 2018). Not surprisingly, there is a vast market potential associated with these robots, which is expected to grow to 87 billion by 2025 (BCG, 2017).

• Hector González(ESCP Business School, Spain)
• Yang Sun(Northeastern University, China)