Technological automation continues to stoke enthusiasm among advocates and fears among detractors, with the former seeing unprecedented new ways to streamline operations and the latter concerned about the potentially devastating impact on the job market. Retail has already witnessed some major forms of automation implemented at scale, and a major player in the segment recently laid out a tight timeline along which people should expect more.
Mark Shirley, head of logistics at Primark, told Reuters late last year that the percentage of automation within the retail industry could jump to between 60 percent and 65 percent within the next three to four years. He approximated the current amount of automation in the retail sector as resting at about 40 percent.
