A new study from Juniper Research finds that over 74 million consumer robots will be shipped in 2024, up from an estimated 28 million in 2019.
The research group forecasts that vendors’ focus on educational features in consumer robots, such as coding tools, and adding features to established device ranges will increase the consumer value proposition, driving the growth of consumer robotics adoption over the next five years.
Juniper says shipments of domestic aide robotics, including robot vacuums, mops and lawnmowers, are forecast to reach 47 million in 2024 from only 19 million in 2019. It forecasts that the domestic aide segment will account for nearly two-thirds of global consumer robotics shipments by 2024.
The research group urges consumer robotics vendors to diversify their services by adding compelling new features to their domestic aide robots. It identifies new capabilities such as garden maintenance and smart home compatibility as key emerging areas that will provide growing demand from end users in the sector.
“With the highly visible changes in the robotics market, vendors are searching for a way to secure their futures,” says research author Michael Larner. “The winners will be the manufacturers who create the most valuable long-term propositions for users, which justify their high asking prices by offering a comprehensive service portfolio.”
Juniper suggests vendors in the space explore future subscription models for access to robotics services in order to generate recurring revenues from its products; enabling these vendors to invest further into cybersecurity features. However, to justify leveraging this recurring cost onto end users, the research group says this is essential to maximize the value proposition and foster confidence amongst consumers of the long term capabilities of consumer robotics devices.