IDC: 26Q2 global household cleaning robot market shipments of about 11.205 million units increased 21.5% year-on-year
The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) tracking report data, in the second quarter of 2026, the global household cleaning robot market shipped about 11.205 million units, an increase of 21.5% over the previous year. Among them, the robot vacuum market shipped 7.885 million units, and the concentration of leading manufacturers continued to rise. After experiencing high growth of 36.6% in the first quarter, the market growth rate returned to normal in the second quarter, but structural differentiation further intensified: the monopoly pattern of the top three sweepers solidified, lawnmower robots continued to grow rapidly, and pool robots entered the traditional peak season.
Robotic sweeper
In the second quarter of 2026, the global robot vacuum market shipped 7.885 million units, with sales reaching US$3.89 billion. Market concentration increased significantly: the top five manufacturers together accounted for 75% of shipments and 82.0% of sales. The European market continued to lead growth in the second quarter. Shipments increased 64% year on year. Of these, high-end models worth more than 800 US dollars (excluding tax) accounted for 16.6% of the European market. During the spring promotion period, leading brands were stocked in large quantities in local warehouses, and the cost pressure of low cost brands accelerated their exit. The price of terminal models in the European market was reduced and the number of flagship models was accelerated.
The global robot vacuum market has entered the stage of “head hardening and tail removal”. With technology research and development, brand premiums, and global operation capabilities, leading vendors continue to widen the gap with Nakao brands, and the profit and voice of the high-end market are further concentrated on the head. For the Nakao brand, it is difficult to break through simply relying on price competition; it is necessary to find a living space in segmented scenarios, differentiated technology, or specific regional markets. The average price of global sweeping robots in the second quarter was about 4,943 US dollars (excluding tax), up 7.9% from the previous year. The trend of high-end products continued. The industry's product iterative logic left the competition for homogenized parameters and moved to focus on the real deep cleaning experience of the home. Various hardware solutions such as tablets, discs, and rollers evolved simultaneously and were diverse and parallel.
Lawnmower robot
In the second quarter of 2026, mowing robots continued their boom, with 939,000 units shipped, an increase of 59.7% over the previous year, maintaining rapid growth. Borderless models have become the absolute mainstream of the market, and the share of shipments continues to rise to 84.2%.
The growth logic of lawnmower robots is still dominated by the supply side. Leading domestic brands have established significant advantages in cost control and delivery cycles with full chain localization support, from lidar, drive motors, and power batteries to OEM. At the same time, traditional cleaning leaders have accelerated their entry into the market, driving the rapid development of the industry pattern, and the living space for small to medium brands continues to narrow. On the demand side, European and North American lawns entered the peak growth season in the second quarter, with marked seasonal outbreaks; leading domestic manufacturers have continued to increase their offline channel layout in North America since this year, and the market is starting rapidly. On the price side, the average unit price of a global lawnmower robot fell to 1,431 US dollars month-on-month, and the effects of cost optimization in the domestic supply chain continued to be unleashed.
Window cleaning robot
Global shipments of about 847,000 window cleaning robots in the second quarter, an increase of 59.8% year-on-year, continued the high growth trend in the first quarter. Although the second quarter lacked the seasonal impetus of “Spring Festival dust removal” in the first quarter, overseas market development and product performance upgrades continued to drive demand growth. With the implementation of industry standards and the official implementation of national standards, market resources and shares are being gathered at an accelerated pace towards leading brands, and the racetrack is expected to continue its high growth trend throughout the year.
Technological upgrades such as wireless technology, intelligent water spraying, and corner cleaning have significantly improved the product experience; large-scale glass, high-rise housing, and manual cleaning costs in European and American markets have further strengthened demand, while Chinese brands have accelerated global channel deployment with mature supply chains and rapid product iteration, gradually moving window cleaning robots from niche early access categories to popularization.
swimming pool robot
The second quarter was the traditional peak season for pool robots. Worldwide shipments of about 1,533 million units were shipped, down 6.3% year on year. Among underground pool cleaning robots, the proportion of cable-free products continued to rise to 61.6%. Price competition brought about by lengthening the switching cycle under a high base, combined with European and American channels to remove inventory, and Chinese brands accelerated entry, putting short-term pressure on the 2026 Q2 overseas pool robot market.
The high base formed by concentrated demand release during the epidemic is driving some mature markets into the stock switching cycle; combined with European and American channels to remove inventory and weak housing markets, the short-term shipping side is under significant pressure. On the supply side, Chinese brands are speeding up their entry into the European and American markets, intensifying competition for price and share with wireless products and cost-effective strategies, and traditional brands continue to be under pressure. The slight decline in the second quarter was essentially the result of a combination of cyclical adjustments and brand restructuring in mature markets, rather than a fundamental decline in long-term demand for pool robots.
IDC summary and outlook
Leading brands are no longer just competing for a single market for sweeping robots, but are starting to simultaneously lay out various categories such as sweeping floors, mowing, window cleaning, and swimming pools to compete for the overall share of the household cleaning market. In this process, the competitive logic of the industry is undergoing three levels of transformation: from selling hardware to selling experience, from going overseas to shifting to localized management, and from creating popular products to multi-category collaboration. Simply put, household cleaning robots are moving from “single product explosions” to “full-scene ecology”, and competition rules are being rewritten accordingly.
First, shift from selling hardware to selling experience.
As AI navigation and physical intelligence technology continue to mature, robots will become more and more “smart”. They can learn the home environment, plan clean routes, and make adjustments according to user needs. Therefore, the gap between future products depends not only on hardware configurations, but also on software algorithms, AI capabilities, and long-term accumulated data.
Second, shift from overseas products to local management.
Chinese brands going overseas are gradually shifting from “selling products” to “establishing themselves locally.” In addition to leveraging the cost advantages of China's supply chain, leading brands are speeding up the construction of front warehouses, offline stores, and after-sales service networks overseas, and strengthening local teams and channels. In the future, competition in overseas markets will not only be product competition, but also comprehensive competition for logistics, services, channels, and brands. Companies that have completed the localization layout are expected to establish stronger long-term competitive barriers.
Third, shift from creating popular single products to multi-category collaboration.
Laying out multiple cleaning categories at the same time can share R&D, supply chain and sales channels to reduce overall costs; on the other hand, it can also provide consumers with a “one-stop household cleaning solution” from indoor to outdoor, increasing customer unit prices and user repurchases. In the future, cleaning robots will no longer be isolated household appliances, but will gradually connect to smart home devices such as door locks, cameras, air conditioners, speakers, etc., and collaborate with other cleaning robots to provide more complete intelligent services for households.