Outdoor delivery robots in Finland: Exploring customer perceptions

The on-demand food delivery sector has solidified its role as an essential service that connects businesses, customers and couriers through food delivery platforms. Research aligning with Haaga-Helia’s HosByte-project examined how Finnish consumers perceive automated delivery robots for food delivery.

The objectives of the research included assessing the current level of acceptance of automated delivery robots in Finland and exploring how experience design elements may influence this acceptance. Delivery robots developed by Starship Technologies were chosen as the central case study, given their extensive presence across the country for S-Group’s deliveries.

A total of 401 respondents participated, offering valuable insights into their perceptions of food delivery with robots, evaluating design elements that could modify the experience and assessing a hypothetically improved interaction.

Customer preferences for robots as a delivery method

The study’s findings reveal a generally positive perception of automated delivery robots in Finland, driven by a blend of utilitarian and hedonic motivations. Interestingly, the most significant variations in acceptance were between individuals who have prior experience with automated delivery robots and those who do not. Prior experience enhanced acceptance.

The dichotomy between hedonic and utilitarian motivations also highlights a relevant gap across gender and age segments, with males and younger demographics being more inclined to use automated delivery robots for entertainment purposes. Overall, timesaving emerged as the most frequently cited driver of use, followed by entertainment and, to a lesser extent, avoidance of social contact and perceived value for money.

The role of experience design in shaping acceptance

Respondents demonstrated moderately positive attitudes toward experience design elements, with younger demographics and females expressing stronger support.

Due to the strong emphasis on timesaving as a motivator, features that require an investment of time—such as the co-creation of the delivery experience—received significantly lower support compared to elements designed to facilitate the service process, particularly those that enhance communication. This preference for improved communication appears to stem not only from an interest in entertainment but also from a need for information provision throughout the delivery journey.

Furthermore, ‘cuteness’ emerged as an inherent and valued characteristic of the robots, relating both to their physical design and the nature of their interactions. However, results indicated that experience design elements do not have a substantial impact on acceptance.

Targeting trial and acceptance by adding value

In major cities, autonomous delivery robots are becoming a common sight. For instance, besides S-Group’s robot delivery, food delivery platforms such as Wolt have recently started to test robot delivery in selected markets.

More robots mean more opportunities for adding experience-enriching layers to human-robot interaction. When the initial excitement and surprise over seeing a robot rolling around your neighbourhood subsides, companies that add something more to the core delivery experience will be able to stand out from the crowd. Real-time progress updates or two-way communication with the robot or adding design elements that emphasise the cuteness of the robots, could present an interesting starting point.

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