The Chinese robot army transforming the UK's retail industry

The Chinese robot army transforming the UK's retail industryImage source, Geek+Image caption, Two thousand Geek+ robots are deployed across 10 sites in the UKBySuranjana TewariAsia Business Correspondent, Reporting fromHefei, ChinaPublished3 minutes agoEvery time you click "buy" on an online order, the chances are that your purchase starts getting processed within minutes.Increasingly, the journey starts with a squat silver floor robot gliding beneath a storage rack, lifting a shelf and carrying it across a warehouse to a waiting worker.At Geek+'s factory in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, which the BBC visited, fleets of the robots are built and tested before being shipped to warehouses around the world.Some of Britain's biggest retailers - including Tesco, Asda and Next - now use the company's technology.By automating these repetitive journeys, Geek+ says retailers can increase picking speeds, store more goods in spaces that are hard to reach for humans, and reduce errors.Unlike traditional warehouse automation, which relies on fixed conveyor systems and permanent infrastructure, autonomous mobile robots can be deployed simply using QR code floor markers and safety fencing.Geek+, which listed in Hong Kong last year in one of the biggest robotics share sales of 2025, has become the world's largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Geek+ is developing humanoid robots for picking and packingThe UK has struggled with weak productivity growth for more than a decade, and economists say wider adoption of robotics will be essential if businesses are to become more efficient.In its 2026 report SME Technology Adoption in the United Kingdom, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said technologies like robotics would be key to improving productivity. According to the OECD, Britain's low adoption of robotics is "surprising" given its manufacturing herita...