Using Humanoid Robots for Market Research and Customer Feedback
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, staying ahead means harnessing innovative tools that can deliver richer, more insightful customer data. One of the most promising of these tools is the humanoid robot. These lifelike machines — equipped with advanced AI, natural language capabilities and human-mimicking form-factors — are moving from the realms of science fiction into practical applications in customer engagement, market research and feedback collection.
The rise of humanoid robots
The global market for humanoid robots is expanding rapidly. Research shows that the humanoid robot market was valued at US$2.02 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach around US$15.26 billion by 2030. MarketsandMarkets+2MarketsandMarkets+2 There is also the broader projection: some estimates indicate the total addressable market could eventually reach trillions of dollars. Yahoo Finance+2Goldman Sachs+2 What this means for businesses is clear: humanoid robots are becoming viable tools, not just in manufacturing or logistics, but increasingly in customer-facing, interactive roles.
Why humanoid robots for market research and customer feedback?
Traditionally, market research and customer feedback have relied on surveys, focus groups, kiosks, and digital interactions. These methods have served us well, but they have limitations: low response rates, superficial engagement, and difficulties in capturing nuanced behaviour, especially in face-to-face environments. Humanoid robots offer a compelling alternative for several reasons:
Human-like interaction that engages
Because humanoid robots resemble humans in form and movement, they can attract attention and encourage participation in ways that static kiosks or online forms cannot. The novelty alone can boost response rates and help create memorable experiences for customers.Real-time conversational feedback
Equipped with speech recognition, natural language processing and often facial-emotion or gaze analysis, these robots can conduct live conversations with customers: asking questions, probing deeper, adjusting tone and follow-ups based on responses. This moves us beyond simple “tick box” responses toward richer, qualitative data.Uniformity and consistency
Robots don’t have off-days, can deliver questions exactly the same every time (ensuring consistency for comparative purposes) and can operate in environments (trade shows, retail stores, events) where human researchers might be costly or impractical.Data capture and integration
Modern humanoid robots can integrate with back-end analytics systems: capturing voice responses, emotion metrics, dwell times, even non-verbal cues, then feeding that into dashboards. This gives brands more multidimensional feedback.Scalability and novelty value
Having a humanoid robot conducting research in-store or at events can itself become a brand statement — showing innovation, modernity and customer-centricity. It draws attention which in turn increases the pool of willing participants.
Practical applications in customer feedback
Here are several concrete scenarios where humanoid robots shine:
Retail store experience: Imagine a customer leaving a store and being invited by a humanoid robot at a kiosk near the exit: “Hi – did you find everything you wanted today? On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the service?” The robot can ask follow-up: “What would have made it a 10?” Then log the responses, analyze them, perhaps offer a coupon or redirect the person to store staff.
Event or trade show feedback: At an exhibition booth, a humanoid robot acts as host, inviting visitors for a quick two-minute feedback chat. Because the interaction is unusual and engaging, more people stop, increasing the sample size of feedback.
In-store product testing: Placed near a new product display, a humanoid robot can ask passers-by to pick up a product, try it, and answer: “What’s your first impression?” It can record verbal feedback and scan demographic cues (age bracket, gender, approximate dwell time) to allow segmentation of responses.
Customer satisfaction at service points: At service-desks, reception areas or waiting rooms, a humanoid robot can prompt customers: “While you wait, can I ask you two questions about your experience today?” This collects feedback while the memory is fresh, rather than emailing later and hoping they respond.
Product concept exploration: A humanoid robot can verbally present a new concept (“Imagine we launched this product with feature X… how appealing would that be to you?”) and gather responses, clarifications, even record emotional reactions or ask open-ended “why/why not” follow-ups.
Benefits for brands and insights teams
From a brand and insights perspective, leveraging humanoid robots for market research and feedback offers benefits such as:
Higher engagement → deeper data: The novelty and interactivity improves participation rates and often the quality of responses.
Multi-modal feedback: Beyond just “yes/no” or rating scales, you can capture nuance: tone of voice, hesitation, emotional reaction, micro-expressions of delight/confusion—especially when a robot is equipped with vision and ML-capabilities.
Brand differentiation: Using a humanoid robot creates a “wow” moment which itself can enhance brand perception (“we are innovative”), thereby improving brand loyalty and positive associations.
Scalable, repeatable methodology: Once setup, the robot can run repeated feedback loops, in multiple locations, with consistent protocols and data output — helping longitudinal studies or multi-site research.
Cost-effectiveness over time: While initial outlay may be higher than a survey or kiosk, the ongoing cost per interaction may fall, especially in high-traffic locations or events where human resource costs are higher.
Challenges & things to consider
Of course, adopting humanoid robots for market research isn’t without challenges:
Up-front investment and deployment logistics: Robots require power supply, maintenance, calibration and sometimes staff oversight (even if minimal). Brands must plan the logistics of placement, hygiene, location, staffing and integration with WiFi/back-end systems.
Design of questionnaire & interaction flow: Robots are not just “survey machines” — the conversational design matters. The questions need to work in spoken form, with natural language, and anticipate follow-ups. Insights teams must design dialogue that the robot can handle reliably.
Data privacy, consent and comfort: Some customers may feel uneasy speaking to a robot, or may worry about what is done with the data (voice recording, facial scanning). Brands must ensure proper consent, clear signage, and compliance with data-protection laws (GDPR, etc).
Edge-cases and fallback: What happens if the robot misunderstands or the user wants to skip? Ensure fallback to human staff or kiosk. Test the system in real-world conditions (noise, lighting, crowds) to minimise errors.
Interpretation of non-verbal cues: If capturing emotional or facial reaction metrics, brands must be careful about over-interpreting such signals. Validating the algorithms and calibrating them for demographic variation is important.
How to implement — step-by-step
If your brand is considering deploying humanoid robots for market research/feedback, here’s a recommended roadmap:
Define objectives clearly: Are you measuring overall satisfaction, concept testing, brand perception, product usability? Ensure clarity on what you want to achieve, what data you need, what audience you’ll reach.
Select locations & sample-frame: Choose high footfall areas (store exits, events, exhibitions, service centres) where you’ll get enough interactions. Consider times of day, target demographics, repetition, and physical logistics of placing a robot.
Design the interaction script: Collaborate with your insights team and the robotics provider to design the question flow, branching logic (if they answer X then ask Y), length of time (2-3 minutes is ideal), voice tone of the robot, greeting, closing message, thanks.
Integrate data systems: Ensure the robot data (verbal responses, rating scales, emotion metrics) flows into your CRM/analytics platform. Establish dashboards or export formats to feed your usual insights workflows.
Run a pilot/test: Before full deployment, run a pilot to test interaction success rate, error rate, user comfort, technical glitches (speech recognition errors, mis-understanding). Refine the flow and fix issues.
Launch full-scale: Deploy at scale, monitor key metrics such as number of interactions per day, drop-off rate (people who start but don’t finish), feedback quality, operational issues.
Analyse & iterate: Use the collected data. Look for patterns: by location, by demographic, by interaction quality. Compare robot-conducted data with your previous methods (surveys, kiosks) to see whether you are getting deeper insight. Use the results to refine your next robot-script, location choices etc.
Leverage brand impact: Don’t just treat the robot as a data-gathering tool — use the robot as a brand experience. Promote the robot’s presence (“Meet our robot-assistant to give feedback”) to draw attention, encourage participation and reinforce your brand’s innovation credentials.
Why you should act now
With the humanoid robot market accelerating (projected CAGR of ~17.5% to 2030 in certain forecasts) Grand View Research+1 and adoption increasingly feasible in service/retail applications, brands that are early adopters stand to gain a competitive edge.
By deploying humanoid robots in market research and customer feedback, you:
Capture richer, more engaged responses from customers
Demonstrate innovation in customer experience
Generate high-quality data that goes beyond standard surveys
Position your brand as forward-thinking and customer-centric
How we can help
If you’re ready to explore how humanoid robots can enhance your research, insights and customer feedback programmes — we’re here to support you. We offer:
Robot consulting services: We help you select the right robot platform, design the interaction flow, integrate data systems and manage deployment.
Robot recruitment & deployment: From sourcing the humanoid robot to staffing (if required), logistics and training, we ensure your project is executed smoothly.
To book a call and discuss your specific requirements, reach out to:
SALES@ROBOTSOFLONDON.CO.UK or call 0845 528 0404.
For more information on our humanoid robot solutions, please visit: https://robotsoflondon.co.uk/solutions/humanoid-robot/.
About our sponsors
We’d like to thank our sponsors who are helping lead the robotic revolution in customer experience and insights:
Robot Center – Visit https://robotcenter.co.uk/. A UK-based consultancy specialising in “Buy Robot, Robot Buy, Robot Consultancy, Robotics Consultancy” offering purchase options, system design and strategy.
Robots of London – Visit https://robotsoflondon.co.uk/. A provider of “Robot Hire, Robot Rental, Rent Robot, Hire Robot, Robot Events”, helping brands deploy humanoid robots in events, retail and research.
Robot Philosophy – Visit https://robophil.com/. Run by RoboPhil (also known as Philip English) — “Robot Consultancy AND Robot Recruitment, Robot Advice, Robot Insights, Robot Ideas”. RoboPhil is a leading Robot YouTuber, Robot Influencer, Robot Trainer, Robot Consultant, Robotics Streamer, Robotics YouTuber, Robotics Influencer, Robotics Consultant, Robotics Trainer.
Final thoughts
In a marketplace where differentiation is hard and customer time is increasingly scarce, using humanoid robots to collect feedback and conduct market research offers a compelling way to engage people, gather deeper insight and elevate your brand experience. The technology is maturing, costs are coming down, and the novelty factor still works — which means the time to act is now.
Whether you are a retail chain looking to gather post-purchase feedback, a brand launching a new product and testing concept scenarios, or a service provider wanting real-time customer satisfaction data, humanoid robots can be a significant asset in your toolkit.
Don’t wait until your competitors adopt the innovation first. If you’d like to explore how this can work for your organisation, contact us today. SALES@ROBOTSOFLONDON.CO.UK | 0845 528 0404.
Thank you for reading — here’s to smarter, more engaging market research powered by humanoid robots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hjXf0ZSRL0