SM Supermalls - Innovation in Consumer Products & Services

Company: SM Supermalls, PasayCity, Metro Manila, Philippines
Category: Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services

Nomination Title: Enjoy a New Way of Malling with SAM the Robot

Essay:

Background

SM Supermalls has transformed the landscape of Philippine malls with its constant innovations. From being a place to shop products and services, SM has become a place where families gather to partake in special moments and new experiences. SM takes pride in delivering exceptional and reliable customer service, making sure that all its patrons’ needs are met in timely and efficient ways. However, not everyone loves the idea of making inquiries or getting even more lost inside the mall to find the nearest directory. As malls get bigger and busier, the customers are at risk of being presented with an overwhelming experience rather than a pleasant one.

Challenge

How can SM improve customer assistance through digital and technological innovation?

Strategy

One of the many ways by which customers navigate and enjoy SM malls is by seeking assistance from on-ground concierge and guards, or by engaging in the strategically placed digital directories. With this, SM found the need to further improve assistance with new technology. At the core of SM Supermalls is customer service—to make shopping experience easy, enjoyable, and seamless. The company understood the customer’s point-of-view, and the introduction of the country’s first-ever smart customer service robot is a great way to deliver customer service in a fun, novel way. In 2019, one of SM’s key digital marketing goals is to provide its customers with an enhanced and frictionless customer experience. It was a threefold strategy that involved customer assistance, gamification and fun, and serving targeted content.

Execution

SM went with the wow factor by introducing the country’s first in-mall customer assistant, SAM the Robot. The company wanted its patrons to have extraordinary and impressive experiences with fun ways of engaging with technology by headlining the robot under the #SMthingNew campaign. In March 2019, three SAM Robots rolled out to serve customers in SM Megamall. The AI concierge is designed to be a friend, delivering personalized service through a smooth and fun interaction. Using face detection, SAM greets customers with the warmth of a real person. SAM is able to collect customer data particularly suited to marketing purposes, such as age and gender. This enables SM to cater to its customers better by way of targeted advertising and providing custom and relevant information. Through voice capability, SAM is able to process voice queries and learn customer needs through language. To make things more fun, SAM also carries some games that does not only entertain customers, but also drives them to tenants. Other interactive features include thematic and holiday games such as Scratch the Christmas Cards, which gave out holiday prizes to willing participants.

Results

-Three SAM Robots were deployed in SM Megamall in 2019. The experience was well-received, and people took to social media to rave about their positive interactions with SAM, even garnering over 2.5M reach and almost a million online engagements.
-The launch of SAM was featured profusely in online media, on TV, as well as numerous times in print, giving a total media mileage of over USD 60,000.
-On ground, partnerships with tenants via the in-robot games drove customers to stores. There were 8,610 participants, 1,097 winning coupons, with 13% redemption rate, driving hundreds of customers directly to the stores.
-By August 2019, average customer interaction with SAM the Robot in SM Megamall is double that of digital directories (44,980 vs 21,706), answering customer queries such as store location, mall events, cinema schedule, and tenant information.
-SAM the Robot was deployed in SM Aura Premier in February 2020 and is set to roll out in more locations within the year—giving the company a savings of USD$8,000 for this initiative alone.

Links:

SM_SamRobot : https://youtu.be/eC0H3oej-Wc