You already can grab lunch without talking to a cashier. Will a higher minimum wage in Illinois prompt more automation?
CHICAGO - If you're the anti-social type, automation has made life a bit easier.
You can grab lunch, groceries or movie tickets without interacting with cashiers. Check into your hotel room without stopping at the front desk. Retrieve the goods you ordered via touch-screen kiosk or mobile app from a locker and avoid having to thank a soul.
Consumer preference is partly behind this latest wave of mechanization, but businesses also are pressed to streamline operations in the face of a tight job market and rising labor costs.
With Illinois poised to adopt a $15 minimum wage, nearly double the current rate in parts of the state, companies that have yet to automate tasks may jump on the bandwagon.
"They're chipping away at manual tasks to reduce the number of hours employees have to work," said Rob Wilson, managing director and partner in the Chicago office of L.E.K. Consulting, a strategy firm. "A lot of it is under way. ... This (the minimum wage increase) would just accelerate it."
Chicago is already on the front lines of counter service automation. In September, Amazon opened a cashierless store in Chicago, the company's first outside of its hometown of Seattle. Quick-service Asian chain Wow Bao opened a fully automated restaurant in Chicago in late 2017.
Those extreme examples are unlikely to become widespread anytime soon, but consumers will likely see more restaurants and stores invest in technology
