Grocery Stores Turn to Robots During the Coronavirus Local grocers and big chains are deploying robots to clean floors, stock shelves, and deliver grocer ies to shoppers during the coronavirus. Walmart will have self-driving robots, robots that scan shelf inventory, and robots that scan boxes as they come off delivery trucks. The company said the "smart assistants" allow workers to switch to selling merchandise to shoppers and other cus- tomer service roles.

a. Explain how advances in technology are influ- encing the market for robots used in stores in the short run and in the long run. h. Draw a diagram to illustrate your explanation in part (a). Competition and Efficiency