Is a Roomba really useful in our home? You can try any iRobot product for 1,980 yen
On June 8, iRobot Japan announced a major update to its “Robot Smart Plan +” subscription service that allows users to try out their robot vacuum cleaners and floor mopping robots. In addition to expanding the products that can be tried, there is also a “2-week trial course” that allows you to try iRobot products in a short period of time. Each model can be rented for a flat rate of 1,980 yen. In addition, there are three major changes, such as making it easier to change from the two-week trial course to the continuous worry-free course.
iRobot's Robot Smart Plan is a subscription service launched in June 2019. Robot vacuum cleaners are convenient, but depending on the living environment, they may not be able to demonstrate their original performance. Therefore, the feature of this subscription service is that you can actually use it at home and check "Will it work properly in your own home?"
The standard “Anshin Continuation Course” has a contract period of 36 months. After 3 years, ownership of the product is transferred to the user, and from the 4th year there is no charge. As the name of the plan says "Anshin", it is also characterized by a strong warranty, such as free repairs for a paid period of 36 months. For one year from the start of the contract, even failures due to user negligence are subject to free repair.
In 2020, one year after the service started, the service name was changed to the current "Robot Smart Plan + (Plus)". We have increased the lineup of eligible products and added a “Two-week Trial Course” that allows you to contract for a short period of 14 days.
In this announcement, the content of this robot smart plan + is further enhanced. The first change is the addition of the Rumba flagship model "Rumba s9 +", which has been requested for some time. Until now, s9+ was not covered by a subscription service, but 85.9% of users who used the Anshin Continuation Course answered that they wanted to experience s9+, so it was selected as a new service lineup.
As a result, the following 10 models will be eligible for the Anshin Continuation Course. The figure in parentheses is the monthly fee for the worry-free continuous course.
The second change is that it's easier to switch courses. In the past, it was necessary to return the borrowed robot once when moving from the "trial two-week course" to the "anshin continuation course". Honestly this is a hassle. Even if you want to continue using the same model, the disadvantage is that you will always have to return it.
In addition, the high-end Roomba model learns the layout of the room, but it is said that some people complained that it was inconvenient to learn the layout of the house. (clears the floor plan of the house that was built). Therefore, with the new service, it is now possible to continue using the same robot without returning the product when the course is changed. Moreover, if you use the same robot, you will get 10% off the monthly fee. Of course, it is also possible to return the robot once and select a new robot as before.
The last change is the price revision of the "Try Two Weeks Course". In the past, the rental fee was different for each product, but with the new service, all products can be used for a uniform price of 1,980 yen. Depending on the product, it is now possible to try it at about 60% cheaper than before. The following 6 models are eligible for the 2-week trial course.
Robot Smart Plan + has been handled by the home appliance rental service “Rentio” since its launch. From April 2021, NTT Docomo's device rental service "kikito" will also handle Robot Smart Plan +.
In the announcement of the new service, the representatives of both services also took the stage online. Kenjiro Miwa, President and CEO of Lentio, which has provided the service for three years since the launch of the Robot Smart Plan, said, "Based on the feedback from customers who used the robot smart plan in the first year, we revised the plan content and price in the second year. As a result, the number of customers who use it has increased at once,” commented.
Rentio is a platform that provides a service that ``try home appliances and own them if you like them'', but Roomba and Braava seem to have a high transition rate from ``try'' to ``own''. Of all the products handled by Lentio, there are probably the most users who have shifted to "owning". Mr. Miwa concluded, '(Rumba and Braava) are such good products.'
From NTT Docomo's device rental service "kikito", Mr. Kazuyuki Sakurai, manager of the product department device and accessory business, took the podium. Mr. Sakurai first introduced kikito as a service that rents a lineup of video, audio, and camera equipment. This time, I commented that by adding so-called "self-produced home appliances" that create time by using it, such as a robot vacuum cleaner, you can enjoy the time you enjoy with your family and friends even more.