On the second day of the first lunar month at Ningbo Ocean World, the interactive scene outside the Ocean Theater is particularly eye-catching. Four quadruped robots and two humanoid robots dance flexibly to the cheerful rhythm of the song, attracting a large number of tourists to stop and check in. This is just a microcosm of robot applications during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse. From the "waiter" shuttle delivery service in Beijing Yizhuang Intelligent Restaurant to the "calligrapher" who writes the character "fu" for passengers in the G60 Expressway Xiaoshan Service Area; From dancing at the concert to the "Nine Heavenly Fairies" at the Yichang Spring Festival Gathering and Spring Festival Gala - this Spring Festival, a group of "robot employees" are so busy that they can't even touch the ground. In the strong flavor of the New Year, there is quietly a bright technological color. Starting from tens of thousands of yuan per day to hundreds of yuan per day, from core cities to lower tier markets, robot rental is moving from niche experimentation to mass consumption. Cost effectiveness improvement "This year's Spring Festival has been particularly busy, and we have been providing on-site services throughout the entire process since the first day of the Lunar New Year, until the fifth day of the lunar new year, and the subsequent itinerary has already been fully booked. ”The on-site staff of Ningbo Ocean World said. This is not an isolated case. Many robot rental service providers have stated that since the 23rd lunar month, consultation and booking calls have not stopped, and the slots from the first to the fifth day of the lunar month have been fully booked. Customers usually book two or four robots to be used together for better on-site results. Behind the explosive scene is the concentrated release of robot rental demand during the 2026 Spring Festival. According to data from a Shanghai Technology Co., Ltd. platform, as of February 12th, the platform has received over 1000 orders covering the Spring Festival holiday. During the entire Spring Festival holiday, the overall GMV (total transaction volume) of the platform is expected to increase by 80% month on month. By the end of the Spring Festival holiday, the platform's cumulative order volume is expected to exceed 5000 orders. The CEO of the technology company stated that the growth rate of the company's order volume further amplified in the week before the Spring Festival. During this year's Spring Festival period (from the first to the seventh day of the lunar new year), platform orders increased by nearly 70% month on month, and it is expected to maintain a high growth rate of around 50% after the holiday. The demand side is also accelerating its diffusion. According to JD data, first tier and new first tier cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, and Changsha are the main consumer markets, gradually penetrating into lower tier markets. The CEO of a Beijing technology company revealed that during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the task execution volume of Yunji Technology's robots will be 2.2 times that of the same period last year, and the highest daily call volume of AI intelligent voice butler Voice AI will increase by 515% year-on-year. The demand for robot services in economically active areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where both business and local tourism are thriving, continues to be high. From a specific scenario perspective, festival related demands have become the core driving force. Li Yiyan stated that during the Spring Festival, robot rental orders for scenarios such as "New Year greetings, temple fairs, lantern parades, and shopping mall Spring Festival activities" accounted for over 54%, while standardized scenarios such as New Year greetings, marriage proposals, and parent-child interactions also rapidly increased in volume. The Spring Festival is the most important emotional node in China and also an important window for robots to enter real life scenes. ”Li Yiyan bluntly stated, "Robots are no longer just display items or technological symbols on stage, but are beginning to truly integrate into specific applications such as New Year's greetings, shopping activities, cultural and tourism parades. The robot rental market is ushering in a new blue ocean. By 2025, the scale of the national robot rental market is about 1 billion yuan, and it is expected to be no less than 10 billion yuan by 2026." The key to igniting the market is the significant decline in rental prices. Reporters have conducted multiple investigations and found that during the Spring Festival period from 2024 to 2025, popular humanoid robots such as Yushu Technology and Zhiyuan will have daily rental prices of over 10000 yuan in Hangzhou, Ningbo, and other places. By the Spring Festival of 2026, the daily rental prices of mainstream models have been adjusted, resulting in a significant improvement in cost-effectiveness. A Guizhou robot rental service provider quoted a "affordable price": "Now you can rent a basic Yushu or Zhiyuan humanoid robot for one day for 4000 yuan, and the daily rental of a robot dog is only 680 yuan. The operator and safety officer are stationed on site for full protection without additional fees." The daily rental price of Yushu basic robot from a technology company in Wuhan is as low as 3000 yuan. The daily rent for mainstream robotic dogs in Yushu is as low as 78 yuan, and the daily rent for Yushu U1 humanoid robots (including on-site engineer services) is as low as 1796 yuan. More platforms have launched a standardized experience package worth 999 yuan, allowing ordinary activities to easily introduce robot services. Behind the price decline is the rapid expansion of the supply side. A person in charge of a leasing company said, "In the past two years, there were only two or three service providers in second tier cities in Zhejiang, but now they have expanded to dozens. The increase in local service providers has reduced cross regional transportation costs, coupled with the maturity of the supply chain and the decrease in procurement costs. The 'moisture' in rent has been gradually squeezed, and the industry's development has become more rational." The lowering of the threshold for basic services "Robot leasing is booming, mainly because people are interested in humanoid robots and want to see them for themselves. The cost of leasing is relatively low, and the customer base acceptance is relatively high. ”The chairman of a certain engine robot company in Shanghai said, "Currently, most humanoid robots have not truly entered households, and the cultural tourism and evening performance markets will mainly rely on leasing. Leasing is a relatively fast way to collect payments." He said that by 2026, Qingbao Robotics will accelerate the promotion of humanoid robot live streaming, exhibition hall reception and explanation, unmanned retail and other businesses. Li Yiyan said, "The key to the large-scale application of robots is a service network that can continue to operate nationwide. It is difficult for individuals to independently build a complete infrastructure, but the platform can. Through a combination of machine subsidies, technical support, operation training, traffic protection, etc., the platform is expected to further reduce the entry threshold. Currently, Qingtian Rent can dispatch more than 3000 robots of various brands." The founder of a robot technology company in Suzhou said, "The company still focuses on B2B business, and parallel promotion of leasing, piece rate, buyout, project service, co creation and research models, and selects the most suitable form according to customer and scenario needs. ”Nowadays, the threshold for standardized basic services such as New Year greetings and interactions has been significantly lowered, and the focus of industry competition is gradually shifting towards scenario design, technical services, and scheduling efficiency. The person in charge of the leasing company mentioned above believes that "in the future, the leasing company that can stand out in the competition must have both technical strength and program planning ability. Only by deeply cultivating services and accurately matching needs can we win long-term competitive advantages." The influx of capital into robot leasing has also attracted the attention of capital, and a number of listed companies are running into the market. A humanoid robot from an intelligent manufacturing company in Ningbo appeared in the G60 highway Xiaoshan service area during this year's Spring Festival, and its robot has widely participated in various activities such as performances at the Science and Technology Exploration Center; The robot rental performance business of the Ningbo embodied intelligence industry base, led by an electronics company, has exceeded 230000 yuan. These enterprises, relying on their technological accumulation in the field of robot core components, have launched self-developed rental models, injecting new momentum into the development of the industry. ”Wang Haoyu, CEO of a certain management company, believes that the entry of listed companies into the market means that the industry is evolving from scattered "workshop style" competition to a more large-scale and specialized direction. Internet giants are also accelerating their layout. For example, a certain platform has launched self operated robot rental business. In January of this year alone, the transaction volume of self operated robot rental business increased by over 100% month on month. Multiple popular models are difficult to find, and orders have been scheduled until mid March. The relevant person in charge stated that robots have entered a critical stage of large-scale promotion and application, but the "last mile" between manufacturers and end-users is still not smooth. Next, the company will focus on key areas such as healthcare, education, landscaping, and elderly care, providing flexible, convenient, and economical robot financing leasing services, breaking through key bottlenecks and bottlenecks in promotion and application. In this wave, price drops have opened up market space, and innovative scenarios have enriched application dimensions, but the story of commercialization of robots has just begun. (New Society)