Anyone who wishes to buy CDs or DVDs at a Best Buy in New York City can now do so without having to talk to a single employee. Best Buy, which is currently experimenting with automation, now utilizes a friendly, yellow robot named Chloe to sell CDs and DVDs, as well as other accessories to its customers, according to Fox 5 New York.
Customers who wish to purchase a CD, DVD, or accessory will choose the selected product from a touchscreen kiosk. After choosing an item, the customer selects "Buy Now" and swipes a credit card. Once the purchase is confirmed, Chloe will search for the item and retrieve it for the customer.
Chloe lives in a glass-encased compartment, where she is free to roam around and look for a customer's chosen product. Design-wise, Chloe is simply a robotic arm with a monitor for a mouth. Her Spartan appearance contrasts with her disposition however, as she smiles at customers, retrieves a chosen item, and hands it over efficiently and without complaint, reports Techna Bob.
"We're looking to see how customers like it and how they use it before we make any decisions," Carly Charlson, a company spokesperson, said.
The New York City Best Buy store is the first to have a Chloe robot installed. If she is well-received, Americans can expect her to come to the local Best Buy in the near future. For the meantime, Chloe in New York is serving customers in her glass enclosure 24 hours a day.
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