Locus Robotics released its annual Cyber Week recap announcing a record-breaking 120 million units picked globally on behalf of it’s retail and third-party logistics partners, a 71% increase over last year. LocusBots picked over 2.1 million average daily units, amid significant supply chain delays, labor shortages and potential product outages.

“Retailers started peak season earlier this year in an effort to flatten the traditional, highly concentrated order volume and mitigate ongoing labor availability challenges,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Locus AMRs helped our warehouse and logistics partners double their productivity to meet the exploding order volume, while using their existing labor force, to speed up order cycle time and lower labor costs.”

A record $275 billion online global sales took place from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to Salesforce.com and Adobe Analytics Data. US online sales reached $110 billion, up 12%, with mobile ordering representing 40% of all Cyber Week orders as consumers embrace the convenience of online shopping more than ever before.

Top Locus Robotics 2021 Peak Season insights:

• The holiday shopping period began earlier: CyberWeek, specifically, may have shown a moderate increase in 2021 vs. previous years, however, much is due to retailers starting sales events as early as late September to lure consumers to shop early.
• Online shopping is here to stay: Consumers are more comfortable ordering online – the convenience and ease of use is driving growth across not just retail, but all business channels.
• Mobile has become the shopping mode of choice: More than 40% of all orders were via mobile apps.
• The labor shortage is still a concern: Recruiting and retaining workers continues to be a major problem across brick-and-mortar retailers, warehouses, and transportation. Robotic automation has become a necessity required to meet the constantly increasing volume of orders.

Locus Robotics recently passed the 650 million pick milestone in its history, with over 380 million picks in 2021 alone. Locus is now on track to reach its 1 billion pick milestone later this year (in 2022).

With more consumers choosing to shop online, Locus has proven to be a valued resource for helping retailers and 3PL operators seamlessly scale to meet and exceed the growing volume demands today, and into the future.