Recently, a report stated that the mobile robots market is expected to explode in the coming years, and is projected to nearly double in size by 2030. This rapid growth is driven by AI, IoT, and ecommerce demands.
Robots have the potential to revolutionize the ecommerce market as we know it, and brands need to decide whether using them is right for their organization or not.
Rapid Growth For Mobile Robots and the Key Drivers Behind It
According to a recent market research report, the mobile robots market is forecasted to increase from $27.389 billion in 2025 up to $52.114 billion in 2030. This means the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.73%.
This rapid growth is being driven by advanced automation, AI, IoT, and ecommerce demands. Whether a company uses autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), these robots can improve efficiency in a variety of different industries.
These robots are often outfitted with cameras, LiDAR, vision systems, and AI to help them navigate changing environments to complete tasks without impeding humans or damaging their surroundings.
While they can be expensive (often costing tens of thousands of dollars or more) and may not be compatible with legacy systems, many companies and experts believe the benefits outweigh these drawbacks.
Robotics is Reshaping Ecommerce
While the potential future growth is exciting, robots are already making a mark on the ecommerce industry today. For example, Amazon has already deployed more than 1 million robots at the company’s facilities, and several other companies and platforms use them extensively, as well.
These mobile robots can already help ecommerce operations by:
- Handling inventory and stocking shelves
- Automatically sorting and preparing orders
- Transporting a large amount of goods without any human intervention
- Reducing labor costs
- Boosting efficiency, as robots can work 24/7
- Optimizing last-mile delivery efforts
However, while there are many benefits of using mobile robots, ecommerce brands need to decide for themselves if it’s the right choice. While these may have major benefits for some organizations, others won’t get as much out of them.
To decide whether deploying robots is right for you, you should:
- Conduct financial analysis to learn what the total cost of ownership is, what your return on investment (ROI) will be, and more. Without performing this analysis, you may purchase a robot that costs more than it ever saves you.
- Assess your order volume and growth to determine whether automation makes sense. If you’re handling your current order volume with ease, and don’t foresee it increasing drastically, there may be no need to turn to mobile robots in order to maintain acceptable service levels.
- Identify specific issues or bottlenecks that you have that mobile robots will help with. These robots are expensive, so you want to ensure you have issues that warrant using them, or you may end up with an expensive tool that you can’t truly take full advantage of.
- Learn whether your current warehouse management platform or other systems/software you have in place will integrate well with mobile robots or not.
- Gauge the response of your team to see if they’re open to robots. Introducing robots requires plenty of organizational changes and collaboration to work well, and you need to ensure your team is comfortable with this. If you implement robots without being transparent or involving your team in the decision, you may alienate or frustrate them.
