2,1 million domestic floor cleaning robots sold in 2023

Growth rates have slowed down after peaking during the COVID crisis where many households took the opportunity to automate their homes and replacement purchases may take several years. Yet, with more than 2 million units sold alone in 2023, floor cleaning robots account for close to 57% of domestic service robots and remain a major pillar of domestic service robots. Today, we see a fully mature market for domestic floor cleaning robots. This has not always been like that…

Join us in our journey down memory lane

Motivated by a recent inquiry regarding units of cleaning robots sold, we took a deep dive into our archives. This led us all the way to the 2001 World Robotics edition when the report contained data on both industrial and service robots. The first single World Robotics Service Robots was not launched until 2009. For the year 2000 no sales were reported for vacuum cleaner robots (WR 2001). At the end of 2001 there were 5000 units sold on the Swedish market at a price of €1400 (the Trilobite by Electrolux). The forecast was very cautious at the time. The World Robotics Report 2002 projected sales between 25,000 and several million units between 2003 and 2006. Interestingly, at the same time there were quite many lawn mower robots sold, and the market was judged as ´very promising´ (WR 2002).

Quickly, the sales of vacuum cleaning robots outpaced the sales of lawn mower robots by far. In fact, in 2004 the World Robotics Report estimated accumulated sales of 570,000 vacuum cleaner robots with already 12 manufacturers worldwide as opposed to 37,000 units of lawn mower robots. In 2005, the Roomba by iRobot (USA) won the IFR sponsored IERA Award (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award), thereby recognizing the market potential of domestic floor cleaning robots. At the time when Roomba was introduced into the market in 2002, it operated with a random walk (WR 2004).

Today, most vacuum robots do not only vacuum the floor, but they are also able to wet mop and, most importantly, are equipped with systematic navigation algorithms and advanced cameras allowing for 3D mapping of the environment and a more efficient cleaning process.