Let the Robots Serve Us

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it a second nature to be careful about what we come in contact with. As a result, consumer preferences for autonomy in retail spaces and contact-less services is envisaged to gain momentum. The former way of adaption to the given times made me curious about it's application with regard to various small businesses I see in my daily life. These couldn't possibly run without human contact while their automated substitutes didn't really gain popularity and change in consumption behavior. So I did a small poll on my Instagram to see how much people are willing to adapt to an otherwise unpopular substitute in the current times.

I chose the Indian street food pani puri / golgappa. Partly due to the way it is served - the puri, a ball-shaped hollow deep-fried crisp flatbread, is filled with potato mash, onion or chickpeas and then dipped in pani, a mixture of flavored water, with gloved or bare hands of the vendor - and partly due to seeing a decent-sized crowd around a pani-puri vendor recently. I kept the number of questions short (just 4) and tried to give engaging answer-options so that my stories couldn't be easily ignored.

The results of traditional vendor serving system v/s pani puri vending machine were pleasantly surprising. A good sign, for the sake of the poll, most people (79%) were craving pani puri, reminiscent of former normal. Even though caution stops the majority (86%) from fulfilling this particular desire, a little less than half the people (48%) would opt for a pani puri vending machine. Yet it is more than what I was expecting since 77% people never tried the automated service. Also, the appeal of a street food like pani puri lies in the social backdrop (the bustle around, "bhaiya ek plate aur", who-can-eat-the-most contest) and a vendor's personal touch- both literally and figuratively. Really. Anyone eating pani puri occasionally or regularly would most likely have their fixed vendor.

So clearing my previous doubts, more and more consumers are definitely open to automated services that would make them re-live their pre-pandemic lives while prioritising health and safety concerns. Hence let the robots serve us!