TMTPost reported limited retail tasks during China’s National Day holiday, with slow performance still visible to customers.
TMTPost reported that consumers could encounter humanoid robots at DQ Ice Cream, FamilyMart, CHAGEE and selected dealerships for BYD, XPeng and Li Auto during the holiday. The report does not establish whether these sites were regular deployments, pilots or marketing demonstrations.
At a DQ store on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai, TMTPost said a Sharpa humanoid robot prepared an Oreo Blizzard after a customer ordered through DQ’s mini-program. It took a cup, operated the soft-serve machine, added crushed cookies, stirred the dessert and handed it over in 55 displayed steps.
That sequence shows a robot handling a tightly defined service routine. It does not show human-level speed: TMTPost described the robot as moving slowly and quoted observers who said it spilled cups. The account provides no standardized speed, reliability or error-rate results.
At a FamilyMart store in Beijing’s Zhongguancun district, TMTPost said a Galbot robot greeted customers, answered product questions and responded to voice commands to retrieve prepared food or make coffee. One customer reportedly waited more than a minute for corn.
These examples suggest where current retail humanoids fit best: visible, bounded tasks with predictable steps. Cameras and LiDAR—sensors that measure distance with light—help robots observe their surroundings, while software selects actions and robotic arms carry them out.
For shoppers, the practical takeaway is that these robots are reported on-site examples, not evidence of broad replacement for store workers. TMTPost does not establish how many stores used them, how much supervision they required, or whether they continued operating after the holiday.