Home robotics have experienced significant growth over the last year as people look for alternatives to cleaning their homes during lockdown. However, the robotics market is still only emerging in Australia and remains well behind Europe and the US.
Robot My Life, distributor of Ultenic robot vacuums, HOBOT window cleaners and mops, and MoeBot lawn mowers, plans to fill a gap in the market by offering premium home robotics at an affordable price.
“In the robot lawn mower space in particular, there’s many people that aspire to have one but then they look at the cost benefit – is it worth paying $3,000? Our most popular model, the S5, retails for $950, which is a great proposition when an average electric push mower retails for $800,” Robot My Life managing director, Glenn Yee (pictured) told Appliance Retailer in a recent interview.
“We believe our HOBOT LEGEE 7 robotic mop, for $670, is the only one on the market that offers a deep clean when compared with other hybrid vacuum and mop models because it actually scrubs the floor 900 times per minute.
“The HOBOT LEGEE 7 is the only robot mop on Product Review with a 5-star rating and Gadget Guy rated the mop at 9.1. Other robot mops on the market sell for $1,300 and have poor customer reviews. In July, our sales were up 60% and in August our sales grew a further 80% on top of that, so our growth is off the charts.”
Yee believes there is an increasing awareness of home robotics and improvements in suction power and mapping capabilities has made these types of products more enticing to customers.
“Whether it’s tech-savvy Millennials or Baby Boomers looking for products that can assist them to live in their own homes longer with automated cleaning solutions for inside the home, their windows, and their lawns, there is more interest in the category,” he said.
Robot My Life currently distributes its brands direct to consumer but is now looking to distribute through major retailers.
“There are not many players in the market that sell home robotic products as a specialty, and we believe our best-selling product, the LEGEE 7, fills a gap in retailer’s product line. It is also an opportunity to pick up extra revenue and upsell to customers who already have a robotic vacuum,” Yee said.
“We want to ensure that we can partner with retailers that are sustainable and solid enough to ride out the pandemic, and home robotics is a missed opportunity for them.”
In addition to expanding its distribution, Robot My Life also plans to roll out Experience Stores around the country with the first pilot store slated to open in Melbourne in Q1 2022.
“We believe this will be a unique proposition in the home robotics category, designed to educate consumers and allow them to experience our brand and our products,” Yee said.
“Most big-box retailers don’t offer an experience when it comes to robotics; the products are often just sitting on a shelf, so people don’t understand how they operate. Online has grown immensely during COVID-19 and we have developed educational videos for our customers but there are always people who want a more tactile hands-on approach and to see the product in the flesh. Hence, why we think an Experience Store will work well.”