I attended a Roborock event at a shopping mall and realized why they are so successful

I was recently invited to a Roborock event, but it was a bit different from the usual press events we attend. Media was more of an afterthought. This event was for consumers, and took place smack in the middle of a shopping mall in Newport Beach, California.

At first, I was wondering what this whole thing was all about. After walking around the booth, I realized Roborock was smart for organizing community events like this one. It is the perfect way to get new customers! I can see why Roborock is the leading robot vacuum brand worldwide.

Why is it so hard to convince people to buy a robot vacuum?

Owning a robot vacuum is truly amazing

Owning a good robot vacuum is life-changing. Keeping your floors squeaky clean with little to no effort is hard to fathom. It also saves you a significant amount of time, considering how much time you spend cleaning floors every month or year. Mine will even mop the floors!

These little marvels of engineering take away a mandatory chore and turn it into something you rarely have to think about. I always say that it is well worth the investment, even though good vacuum bots can be expensive.

Is it the price?

With that in mind, why is it so hard to convince someone to buy a robot vacuum? Well, I think there are a few reasons, but the main one is that it can be quite a significant investment. The good ones can cost upwards of $1,000, and depending on the model and features, the price can increase way past that.

Robot vacuums can be considered luxury items

Is that really the issue, though? I don’t think so. After all, people spend a considerable amount of money on a bunch of things. For example, high-end smartphones can be just as expensive, yet people continue to buy them in large numbers.

You can argue that smartphones are a necessity, and robot vacuums are still considered a luxury. Then again, plenty of people are buying luxury products, even if they can’t really afford them sometimes!

There’s really no way to test a robot vacuum before you buy

I think there is another factor that makes it hard to convert people into robot vacuum consumers. There is usually no way for people to test these or see them in action. I like to test things before buying them, especially pricey items. Brands trying to sell robot vacuums without the customer ever seeing them in action is akin to a dealer selling cars without allowing test drives.

Consider this: you typically see robot vacuums in retail locations, but I’ve never seen a live demo at any of these stores. I can assume you haven’t either. At least demo phones in stores can be used and tested before making a purchase. You can simply install your favorite game and see how it performs on any device. And while checking out reviews is nice, it doesn’t always push you over the edge to make an actual purchase.

Buying and returning a robot vacuum after testing is hardly an option

There is the argument that you could buy a robot vacuum and return it if you don’t like it, but it isn’t quite that simple. Setting up a robot vacuum takes time and effort. There are multiple things you have to install, you have to find a place for the base station, and then set everything up. You won’t start seeing a robot vacuum in action until at least an hour after getting it home, and even after that, it usually takes a few runs before you start really finding out whether you like it or not.

After all is said and done, returning it would be another messy situation. You have to factory reset it, disassemble it, and then box it up. Parts of it would already be dirty, by the way, and most of us would try to clean it as much as possible before taking it back to the store. Depending on where you live and the store’s return policy, you may also encounter difficulties returning it after it has already been used.

Roborock is bringing its products to people

All of that would deter anyone, or at least make them think twice about making the purchase. We need robot vacuum manufacturers to let everyone see these in action, to show them how one of these tech wonders would change their lives. I must give props to Roborock, as it is actually doing this with pop-up events like this one.

This event was mainly targeted at pet owners

The event was set up much like a booth at a convention like CES. It had multiple scenarios showcasing robot vacuums and other cleaning products in different environments. These included what appeared to be a living room, a play area, a classroom, a kitchen, and more.

The interesting part was that there was a huge focus on pets, which may be a market demographic Roborock is trying to capture. We got to see the Roborock Saros Z70 in a living room scene, with your typical furniture, as well as the nicest dog bed I’ve seen. It’s always impressive to see an arm emerge from this robot, picking up random items with it. I’ve seen it in action several times, and I still get impressed by it.

Next to it was another area with obstacles, featuring the Roborock Saros 10R. We got to see how the robot avoided obstacles, and even worked around a random kid who jumped into the scene and started playing with the accessories (I swear it was not planned).

The robot successfully navigated around all obstacles and even avoided the child while she was playing. Though accidental, it was a perfect example of how well navigation and obstacle avoidance work. If it can avoid bumping into a playing kid, it can likely avoid dogs and cats, too.

After having way too much fun and a cuteness overdose, I moved on to the kitchen section. Things were more serious here, as this was where Roborock was showcasing its manual wet and dry vacuum cleaners.

I got to see these clean up messes created by hard-to-clean things like ketchup and coffee. Despite being less exciting than the robots, everyone was marveling over how well they worked. People also got to see cool features like the steaming function in the Roborock F25 series, and how much easier it made cleaning these messes.

People were allowed to test these themselves. I tried to avoid shooting pictures of random people as much as possible, but you should have seen their faces. They were in total awe.

Next was the classroom scene, with matching furniture, an activity table, and a whiteboard. This one had a Roborock Qrevo series robot vacuum doing its thing while people were doing their thing around the area. Roborock also showed a couple of painted base stations, which I was actually pretty fond of. They looked pretty cool, but they aren’t actually for sale, as I was told they were painted by a local artist for the event.

Things got even more fun on the other side of the booth. The cool thing here is that guests got to enjoy some freebies. For example, free pet grooming was available to those who brought their furry friends. When done, they would showcase the Roborock H60, cleaning up the hair trims.

The rest of the booth was a lot of fun. We all got free coffee, some snacks, and you could even take a portrait with your pet in a really cool area. Of course, there was a robot randomly cleaning up that area, too!

Is seeing believing?

I would say so. As I walked around the booth, I saw ordinary people reacting to these products, and they all seemed quite impressed by them, regardless of whether they had pets or not. I suppose pet owners got more of a positive impression, seeing their beloved furry babies being pampered.

Regardless, seeing people actually enjoying these products made me realize this is the right way to promote a good device. Just let people try the darn things before spending hundreds or even thousands on them!

Roborock’s pop-up booth was only available for a weekend, but I feel like it should become more common. Until then, I suppose your best bet is to keep reading our reviews. They are always honest and genuine. If you need a good guide, here’s our list of the best robot vacuums.

What do you think? Is the inability to test these before you buy stopping you from making a purchase? Do you think you would be more willing to transition from spectator to a shopper if you got to use one of these first? Hit the comments and let us know!