During the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, robots that had not yet "gone to work in factories" frequently appeared in shopping malls, temple fairs, and corporate events. As commercial performance demand was concentrated, the robot rental market gained momentum, with first-tier rental channel partners also earning a modest profit during the holiday period. On February 26, Qingtianzu, a robot rental service platform, revealed that orders on its platform during this year's Spring Festival holiday increased by nearly 70% compared to the previous period. Among these, entertainment performances accounted for 34%, commercial marketing for 31%, education and cultural tourism functions for 19%, and lifestyle events and emotional consumption for 16%. In terms of specific Spring Festival scenarios, orders related to festive settings such as New Year greetings, temple fair lantern festivals, and shopping mall activities exceeded 54%, with a growth rate of over 76% compared to the previous period, becoming the core driver of robot rental demand during the holiday.
Li Yiyan, CEO of Qingtianzu, stated, "This year, we clearly observed that robots are no longer just stage displays or technological symbols but are beginning to integrate into specific applications like New Year interactions, mall activities, and cultural tourism parades." Not only were platform orders active, but rental transaction volumes through e-commerce channels also increased. According to JD.com consumption trend data, starting from January 2026, transaction volume for JD.com’s self-operated robot rental business grew by over 100% compared to the previous period. Popular models such as robots and robotic dogs were in short supply, with many orders scheduled until mid-March.
Zhou Jie, a robot rental provider in Shanghai, shared that he spent the seven-day Spring Festival holiday on a business trip to Beijing, working overtime. After the Spring Festival Gala aired, inquiries and orders for "Gala-style" robots increased significantly. Taking the Unitree U1 as an example, the external rental price on their platform during the holiday fluctuated between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan, offering approximately one minute of dance performance. For dance and movement quality equivalent to the Spring Festival Gala, customers needed to contact secondary development companies and pay additional customization fees.
The reduction in robot rental prices became a reality in 2026. Compared to last year's daily rental rate of nearly 10,000 yuan per unit, the barrier to experiencing robots has significantly lowered. In JD.com’s self-operated flagship rental store, daily rates for mainstream robotic dogs such as the Unitree Go2-X, Go2-Pro, Zhiyuan D1 Pro, and Yun Shenchu Jueying Lite3 start as low as 78 yuan. Meanwhile, daily rates for humanoid robots like the Unitree U1 and Zhiyuan Lingxi X2, which include on-site engineer services, start as low as 1,796 yuan.
However, an anonymous industry insider commented, "Low prices are a gimmick. For instance, many short video platforms like Douyin package 'renting a robot for the holidays' as a marketing stunt, but in reality, these robots often fail to deliver any performance value." Due to low entry barriers, the robot rental industry attracts a large number of players in a short time, easily leading to a vicious cycle of competing on price and order volume. Zhou Jie believes this situation is unsustainable because, beyond purchasing the equipment, rental businesses incur significant costs for maintenance and promotion.
The same insider revealed that, from the perspective of actual task execution and cost structure, the hardware cost of a single robot may be around 100,000 yuan. In theory, continuous operation is required to recover the principal cost. However, current single rental prices are mostly around 1,000 yuan and often include transportation and engineer fees. Under this pricing system, whether channel partners can achieve stable profits remains to be seen.
Another industry expert pointed out that the current rental boom is closely related to exposure from the Spring Festival Gala and concentrated holiday demand. Whether this trend is sustainable depends on data performance during non-holiday periods. The current revenue structure is still relatively shallow, primarily relying on performance, event, and display scenarios. The real test is what value humanoid robots can provide to customers after the Spring Festival Gala ends.
In response, Li Yiyan believes that commercial performances essentially serve as a "traffic entry point." He stated, "After the holiday, we are more focused on scenario consolidation, such as routine applications like mall guidance, store traffic generation, and educational interactions. By standardizing content packages, training, and repurchase mechanisms, we aim to transform one-time performances into sustained service value, rather than merely capitalizing on holiday demand."