iRobot Expanding Direct-to-Consumer Product and Service Offerings
BEDFORD: A leader in consumer robots, today announced it is diversifying its product offerings with the introduction of the iRobot H1 handheld vacuum for cleaning hard-to-reach areas like couches, curtains and stairs. The company also reported continued progress in its efforts to offer new services that provide customers with greater purchase protection and flexibility, such as its Protect and Protect+ extended warranties, and positive early test results from iRobot Select, its robot-as-a-service membership program.
As previously reported, iRobot's direct-to-consumer sales more than doubled in the fourth quarter and generated 11% of total 2020 revenue while the company continued to enjoy strong demand from major retailers worldwide. During 2020, iRobot's connected customer base grew over 80% to 9.7 million customers. The introduction of a new premium handheld vacuum and broad commercial availability of extended warranty packages are the latest milestones in the company's efforts to build stronger, more enduring direct relationships with its customers and nurture the lifetime value of these relationships.
"We have always believed that the future of vacuuming is a Roomba robot and a cordless vacuum for hard-to-reach places. The H1 handheld vacuum complements our existing product lineup by offering customers a premium iRobot solution for cleaning beyond the floor. It also represents the first product introduction that leverages our enhanced direct-to-consumer capabilities, allowing for another efficient way to bring new products to market," said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. "We've also been delighted with the frequency at which customers are adding extended warranty coverage when they purchase robots directly from us. In addition, we have been pleased thus far by the overwhelmingly positive response from our small-scale pilots of new premium membership and care services."
