My Big Worry: Discretionary Spending

Let's face it, the Roomba is NOT a necessity of life. It is a luxury item, like a maid. When push comes to shove, will people be buying $300 robot vacuums and mops when they see headlines every day about recession around the corner (or already here?)?

On the other hand, can iRobot capitalize on the tax rebate checks going out to 120 million households? (Perhaps offering a discount if you use your rebate check on a robot?) Maybe iRobot should package a Roomba 560 and Scooba 350 in a $600 "Tax Rebate Special." If they did it soon enough, they might even get some press as the first ones out of the box to do it, before the carmakers jump on the bandwagon with "Double Your Rebate" Days. That won't have any appreciable effect however until the second half of the year.

We'll hear soon from iRobot on their view of this year's sales. So far, none of the analysts are expecting much growth this year on the consumer side.

Tags: iRobot, Roomba