buddy robot at galeries lafayette: An exceptional weekend in the heart of one of Paris’s most iconic department stores.
Buddy, the companion robot developed by Blue Frog Robotics, was positioned at the entrance to welcome, surprise, and interact with thousands of visitors. Discover the incredible experience of buddy robot at galeries lafayette !
buddy robot at galeries lafayette, an exceptional setting
It would be hard to imagine a more symbolic place to introduce Buddy to the general public. Galeries Lafayette is much more than a department store: it is an institution, a place of life, a space where thousands of people with radically different backgrounds cross paths every day. International tourists, Parisians of all ages, families, professionals, and fashion or gastronomy enthusiasts-the Galeries Lafayette audience reflects the capital itself: diverse, cosmopolitan, and demanding.
It was in this unique context that the decision was made to place Buddy not in a discreet corner of the store but right at the entrance itself. The exact spot where every visitor steps in, where the eye is still finding its bearings, and where surprise is at its peak. A bold choice that reflects the confidence placed in Buddy’s ability to blend into this environment while bringing something truly unique to it.
At the entrance of the store
Buddy, positioned directly at the entrance of Galeries Lafayette, is the first face visitors encounter as they walk through the doors. A deliberate placement designed to maximise surprise and the impact of first impressions.
Two days on site
A full weekend, Saturday and Sunday, during which Buddy was fully operational and available for interaction. Two days at the fast pace of a major Paris department store, in a particularly busy and dynamic human and acoustic environment.
A highly diverse audience
From children to seniors, from international tourists to local regulars, Buddy encountered a rare diversity of profiles gathered in one place. Each interaction was unique, reflecting the richness of the Galeries Lafayette audience.
buddy robot at galeries lafayette Positioned at the entrance. It was the threshold between the outside world and the experience within.
Buddy facing the general public
The central question at this type of event is how the general public who are not necessarily familiar with robotics reacts in their everyday environment. Beyond professionals and enthusiasts, what about everyday visitors, such as a shop assistant on a break, a retiree, or a family spending the weekend in Paris?
The experience at Galeries Lafayette shows that well-integrated social robotics is not a source of concern. It sparks curiosity and attracts attention. Buddy also helps create connections between visitors by encouraging spontaneous conversations around the robot’s reactions and each person’s impressions.
This highlights an important effect: the robot does not replace human interaction. Buddy stimulates it and can even act as an unexpected catalyst for it.
All audiences, one shared curiosity
While Buddy is designed for everyone, each type of visitor develops a different relationship with the robot. Younger visitors, accustomed to digital interfaces, approach it spontaneously and playfully, testing its reactions and engaging with Buddy.
Adults, on the other hand, often move from initial scepticism to growing curiosity. At first observant, they are gradually surprised by Buddy’s responses and movements, which eventually spark smiles and interest.
Older visitors, finally, sometimes have the most striking reactions. Some express genuine emotion in response to the attention and perceived “kindness” of the robot. These interactions highlight a key question: the boundary between what Buddy truly is and what each person projects onto it.
The true success of a robot in a public space is not to be the centre of attention, but to find its rightful place within the flow of the environment.
Buddy’s presence at Galeries Lafayette is part of a broader reflection on the role that socially assistive robotics can play in retail and service environments. At a time when major retailers are seeking to enrich the customer experience, stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape. So they create a memorable moments that justify visiting a physical store in the face of online convenience.
A robot like Buddy offers a concrete and distinctive answer.
Buddy can welcome, guide, and provide information
Beyond these practical functions, it does something far more valuable: it creates emotion. Someone entering a store and encountering Buddy leaves with a story, a memory, and the desire to share that experience. In today’s attention economy, this ability to generate an authentic and memorable experience represents significant value.
Buddy does not replace humans
The warmth of an expert salesperson, the personalised relationship that a good sales advisor builds with their customers-Buddy is not there to replace that. It is there to add an extra layer of experience, to surprise, and to open a moment of lightness and curiosity in a shopping journey that can sometimes feel too functional. It is there to remind us that physical retail can still inspire wonder.
Buddy, at the heart of new human interactions
Blue Frog Robotics deeply believes that positive robotics—robotics that serves people, supports them, and sometimes moves them emotionally—has its place in the main arteries of contemporary retail. Not as a cold technological showcase, but as a full participant in the visitor experience. This weekend at Galeries Lafayette provided a new, tangible and vivid demonstration of this.
Beyond entertainment and visibility, this weekend at Galeries Lafayette provided valuable insight into how a robot like Buddy integrates into a complex public space. The lessons learned are numerous, and some went beyond initial expectations.
One weekend.
Thousands of first encounters
For every visitor who stopped in front of Buddy that weekend at Galeries Lafayette, it was often a first: the first time speaking to a robot, the first time a robot responded, the first time technology appeared with such an accessible and welcoming face. These first times matter. They shape perceptions, ease fears, and open up new possibilities. It is to create and experience these moments that Buddy exists.
Two days with Buddy
The first hours confirmed the impact of the chosen positioning. As soon as they entered the store, visitors came face to face with Buddy a surprise encounter that consistently triggered a reaction: a pause, a glance, sometimes a slight step back in surprise before curiosity took over. The robot, with its large expressive eyes and small head movements, also seemed to observe its new interlocutors. This perceived reciprocity is one of the elements that makes Buddy so distinctive in a public space.
As the day went on, the range of interactions proved to be particularly diverse. International tourists took out their cameras, intrigued by a robot designed in France. Older visitors, initially hesitant, gradually came closer, exchanged a few words, and left with a smile.
Other visitors, alone or with family, were pleasantly surprised by the experience, moving from simple observation to genuine interaction. Each exchange was unique, but all led to the same conclusion: no one remained indifferent after meeting Buddy.
Discover Buddy for your educational project
Buddy can enrich emotional learning and open up new educational perspectives, in the classroom, in therapy, or in your creative workshops.
For students and teachers
Buddy is an interactive educational tool that engages students, supports learning, and helps teachers in their innovative teaching practices.
For children with neurodevelopmental disorders
Through its playful, guided interaction, Buddy helps stimulate attention, learning, and social skills in children with autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.
For older adults experiencing loss of independence
Buddy supports daily routines, strengthens social connection, and promotes the well-being of older adults in care facilities and at home.
Buddy, Your Ambassador
Buddy is a unique brand ambassador that welcomes, guides, and informs visitors while offering interactive experiences.
Through these key areas, Buddy transforms technology into a practical tool for building connections, encouraging interaction, and supporting everyday life in a human way.
BUY BUDDY !
Interested in acquiring Buddy? Don’t hesitate fill out our quote request form by clicking the link below.