iRobot Lawnmower Poll: 75% Would Buy Robomower

An encouraging, completely unscientific poll at the top right of this website (if you are reading the blog feed, you have to click to Robot Stock News to see it) shows about 75% of 145 readers would buy an iRobot robotic lawnmower. We know the company has a robotic lawnmower under development, but has yet to tip its hand on when it will bring one to market, while competitors like SmartMow have started attacking the sub-$1000 home robot market where iRobot makes its mark.

Of note, the poll shows that the price point is a big key. The sub-$500 price point nearly doubles interest, while the $750 and $1000 price points are also important. I think the ideal is to have a $499 product that's the "basic" model advertised as for small lawns (smaller battery, no dock, etc.) while a $799 "SE" model adds a dock, scheduling and a high-performance battery and a $999 "Pro" model includes assorted extras (blades, battery upgrade, "doghouse dock", 2-year warranty). Of course, you could start out at higher prices to capitalize on geek interest and offer periodic discounts later (Woot?) to get to the magic $499 price point. It's important to remember that the lawnmower marketplace is MASSIVE. Mowers, landscaping and gardening equipment is a $19 billion industry worldwide. I think iRobot could aim for a $100+ million product (i.e., Roomba territory). That would mean selling 200,000 mowers a year, or about .2% of U.S. households.

Tags: iRobot, robot