Caught in the "Growth Curse": The Predicament and Breakthrough of Robotic Vacuum Cleaners

Is the robotic vacuum cleaner still a lucrative business in 2025?

On one hand, established players are engaged in fierce competition, and the industry concentration is intensifying. Some companies are laying off employees to streamline operations, while others are constantly crossing boundaries to seek new growth curves, and some founders have even made it to the hot search list for "not focusing on their core business."

Statistics from IDC show that in 2024, the top five domestic robotic vacuum cleaner brands, including Ecovacs, Roborock, Yunjing, Xiaomi, and Dreame, accounted for nearly 90% of the domestic market share, leaving very limited space for other brands.

On the other hand, new players are still flocking into the market without hesitation.

In the first half of this year, Pudu Robotics launched a new commercial cleaning robot, the PUDUCC1Pro, officially entering the cleaning market. Not long ago, DJI announced that its robotic vacuum cleaner, which took four years to develop, will be released on August 6.

In addition, Midea Group established a new retail company to further expand terminal service scenarios, and Ecovacs set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Huzhou to deepen the integration of intelligent hardware and consumption scenarios through regional layout.

Obviously, after a period of wild growth, the robotic vacuum cleaner industry has entered a new round of competition.

Where has the profit gone?

Judging from the data, the growth of the robotic vacuum cleaner industry is still relatively stable.

IDC data shows that in 2024, the global shipments of intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners reached 20.603 million units, with sales of $9.31 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 11.2% and 19.7% respectively. The average unit price increased by 7.6% to $452. Among them, the global shipments of robotic vacuum cleaners in the fourth quarter increased by 7.8% year-on-year, with a slower growth rate compared to the first three quarters.

Data from Aowei Cloud Network shows that in the first five months of this year, the online retail sales of cleaning appliances in China reached 11.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.4%, and the retail volume was 9.92 million units, a year-on-year increase of 2.0%. Among them, the retail sales of robotic vacuum cleaners increased by 20.1% year-on-year. In addition, as Chinese brands accelerate their overseas expansion, eight Chinese brands are among the top 10 in the global market share, and the global market share of Chinese brands has reached 63%.

Although the sales volume has increased and the market share has expanded, the profits of robotic vacuum cleaner companies have actually declined.

Take Ecovacs and Roborock, two companies that have disclosed their financial information, as examples.

Ecovacs, once known as the "king of robotic vacuum cleaners," has seen its net profit decline since 2022. The decline rate in 2023 even exceeded 60%. Last year, Ecovacs' revenue reached 16.542 billion yuan, and although its net profit increased by 31.07%, the absolute value was only 806 million yuan, less than half of its peak in 2021.

Roborock also has good sales data. According to IDC statistics, in 2024, Roborock achieved the highest global sales volume and sales revenue, with a year-on-year increase of 20.7% in shipments.

However, in terms of profitability, while Roborock's revenue increased significantly by 38.03% last year, reaching a total of 11.945 billion yuan, the growth rate of its net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company turned negative, decreasing by 3.64% to 1.977 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2025, the divergence between the company's revenue and profit was even more obvious. The operating income in the first quarter increased by 86.22% year-on-year, while the net profit attributable to the parent company decreased by 32.92% year-on-year.

Regarding the reasons for the decline in the net profit growth rate, Ecovacs pointed out in its 2022 and 2023 annual reports that multiple factors, including rising cost expenses, asset impairment losses caused by inventory write-downs, fierce industry price wars, and continuously high R & D investment, have combined to put the company in a situation of "increasing revenue but not increasing profit."

Roborock explained in its 2024 annual report that the increase in costs and expenses, the decline in gross profit margin caused by intensified market competition, and the fluctuations in non-operating income and expenses have jointly impacted its profitability.

Although we have only presented two cases of robotic vacuum cleaner companies increasing revenue but not increasing profit, it reflects the common dilemma faced by the entire robotic vacuum cleaner industry.

Newcomers undaunted by problems

On the user side, after multiple iterations, robotic vacuum cleaners still cannot perform cleaning tasks as well as humans.

For example, if there are slightly larger particles on the ground, the robotic vacuum cleaner not only fails to pick them up but also pushes the garbage around the room, often pushing large pieces of garbage into the corner and then simply turning around and leaving.

For another example, stains that can be easily wiped off by humans with a cloth cannot be cleaned by the robotic vacuum cleaner even after several rounds of cleaning. When it runs over sticky dirt such as pet feces or greasy soup, it's a "disaster," leaving traces all over the house.

Another example is that in narrow spaces with many obstacles, such as under the dining table, the robotic vacuum cleaner often sends out a "machine trapped" distress signal. Due to misjudgment of the spatial position and the indoor environment, it gets trapped, and in many cases, it's like a "baby" that needs constant care.

When the positioning of robotic vacuum cleaners changes from "tech toys" to "smart home appliances," users' requirements and expectations for them have also changed:

In the past, users could tolerate minor bumps and incomplete cleaning during use;

Now, with unsatisfactory cleaning efficiency and not being a household necessity, robotic vacuum cleaners have become a bit awkward.

To boost sales, manufacturers have engaged in fierce competition in terms of price, talent, patents, etc. Under such extreme involution, profits are naturally diluted.

Since the industry is already so involuted, why do new players still enter the market at this time? There are two main reasons.

Firstly, the low penetration rate of the industry means that there is still growth potential in the market.

According to the "2025 China Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Industry Development Report," the household penetration rate of robotic vacuum cleaners in China is only 6.9%, which is still far behind the 15% in the United States. However, the market in high - tier cities has reached its peak, with a penetration rate of 20%. In low - tier cities, due to factors such as consumer purchasing power and market education, the market has not been fully developed, and it will take time to increase the penetration rate.

This means that unlike traditional home appliances, the robotic vacuum cleaner market is not saturated yet, and it's still uncertain who will be the final winner.

Secondly, the market trend of volume and price shows that users' consumption willingness has not diminished.

AVC data shows that the Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner market was in a period of rapid growth from 2018 to 2020, with annual sales exceeding 6 million units.

However, since 2021, the market sales volume has started to decline. In 2021, the sales volume dropped to 5.78 million units, and further declined to 4.41 million units in 2022 (a year - on - year decrease of 23.8%). Although it rebounded slightly to 4.58 million units in 2023, it was still only 76% of the peak in 2020. In 2024, stimulated by the "national subsidy" policy, the sales volume recovered to 5.39 million units.

Comparing the prices, in 2020, the average price of robotic vacuum cleaners was 1,687 yuan, and it has been increasing every year since then. By 2024, the average price ranged from 3,282 yuan (online) to 4,710 yuan (offline).

The downward trend in sales volume and the upward trend in price reflect that there is still market demand, and users are willing to pay for innovation. However, to activate more demand, corresponding innovation is required.

In fact, since the innovation of the third - generation base station technology in 2021, robotic vacuum cleaners have seen multiple functional innovations such as automatic water supply and drainage, full - function base stations, chassis lifting, laser navigation, AI obstacle avoidance, and self - cleaning. Recently, there has also been a change in form with the addition of mechanical arms. In an industry where the product form of robotic vacuum cleaners is not yet fully established, just like Dyson, new players can rise to prominence with a disruptive innovation.

Will DJI be the catfish?

How much impact will the entry of new players have on the market structure? The industry generally believes that DJI is the most uncertain factor.

Liu Run, a columnist on Forbes China, interprets DJI's foray into robotic vacuum cleaners as "overflow innovation," which can achieve a technological penetration with a dimensionality - reduction strike.

Firstly, the core functions of robotic vacuum cleaners are mainly supported by three technologies: visual perception, precise positioning, and path planning. DJI's drones operate in a complex three - dimensional space, and the technical difficulty is much higher than the path planning of robotic vacuum cleaners on a two - dimensional plane. For DJI, making robotic vacuum cleaners is almost a "piece of cake."

Secondly, the key to the success of entering a new product category through cross - border expansion lies in whether the core technology can be transferred and whether users' brand recognition does not need to be re - cultivated after the transfer.

Obviously, DJI has achieved the ultimate in spatial intelligence. If its perception algorithm can avoid branches, there is no problem avoiding data cables. The key is that users have full trust in DJI's technological capabilities. Just like Huawei and Xiaomi, when they transfer their technological accumulation and market reputation from the mobile phone industry to smart wearables, smart home appliances, and the automotive industry, users still trust them.

However, the uncertain point is that the current focus of competition in the robotic vacuum cleaner market is no longer on underlying technologies but on the all - link marketing capabilities such as market strategy, brand recognition, and channel construction.

Regarding DJI's most confident technology transfer, some industry insiders believe that there are also essential differences between drones and robotic vacuum cleaners.

The core of the former is to handle high - speed obstacle avoidance in a dynamic environment, such as avoiding branches and wires. Its algorithm prioritizes flight stability, and its obstacle - avoidance system is designed to be "non - contact." The core of the latter is to identify objects in a static environment, such as sundries and pet feces, and its working principle requires the robotic vacuum cleaner to actively contact the ground and apply cleaning pressure.

Especially in an industry where the core functions are basically determined, market competition has entered a stage of involution in complex functions such as "all - in - one base stations," "automatic washing and drying," and "mop lifting," and the competition is about the ability to further improve the user experience.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that DJI actually faces quite a few challenges. However, anyway, a new round of reshuffle in the industry is imminent. Whoever can truly break through the "pseudo - intelligence" and meet users' rigid needs for "truly clean and truly worry - free" will be the first to reach the shore in the future red ocean.

This revolution in efficiency and experience is far from over.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Insight New Research Institute" (ID: DJXYS - 0309), author: Chen Wen. It is published by 36Kr with permission.