It certainly feels like there has been some serious buzz around robotic mowers this year.

The machines have of course been around for a very long time now and waves of publicity have come and gone. But I don't know, it does seem like this year there may well have been a sea-change in mass appeal and acceptance.

The profile of robotic mowers has certainly risen recently. With their move into the commercial sector we've seen robots starting to be used in very public spaces. We’ve also seen significant developments in their technologies with smartphone apps, voice controls and even machines which don't require a guidance wire. And of course, the current edition of Service Dealer magazine features as its cover star a dealer who's found significant success with the machines and who we describe as a pioneer in their sale.

This week though, we also heard some tangible evidence of how sales of the units are most definitely crossing over into the mainstream. Retailer John Lewis issued a press release stating that sales are soaring, with numbers up 75% this year - which they say is due to "advances in technology and falling prices".

In the statement, John Lewis spokesperson Hannah McFarlane is quoted as saying, "With temperatures reaching the high 20s, people are less prepared to get hot and bothered mowing the lawn and would rather sit back with a chilled drink and watch their robotic lawnmower creating those perfect straight lines, without having to lift a finger."

The retailer’s statement was picked up by many mainstream media outlets, with headlines proclaiming the ending of the grass cutting chore cropping up in, amongst other places, Sky, The Express and The Times. The latter was particularly interesting because as well as a story reporting on the sales, the paper also dedicated an editorial to the subject.

I assume written in a rather tongue-in-cheek style, the editorial begins, "Could there be a greater abomination against nature, a more telling symbol of the indolent and sybaritic lifestyle with which technology is attempting to seduce modern man?"

It goes on to ask, "What skills are lost, what traditions trampled by this rude intrusion of whirring automation into green and peaceful nature?". It finishes by talking about the poems of Andrew Marvell, who wrote four pieces about the mower apparently, "each more laden with symbolism than the other." The Times concludes that these poems just wouldn't be the same with a robot!

Regardless of the worries The Times has, I must assume that most consumers are not overly concerned with how the machines adversely affect poetry from the 1600s! One has to think that this increase in publicity and popularity is in fact a superb opportunity for specialist dealers to present themselves as the local experts in the technology. If John Lewis are seeing sales increased by 75% this year, there are quite clearly consumers out there with cash they are willing to spend on these high-ticket items.

Of course converting these consumers from using high-street chains to frequenting their local independent specialist is the perennial challenge. Those type of consumers who purchase solely on price points are depressingly exemplified by 'Matt' who posts a comment under The Times editorial online, saying "At over £500 it's hard to justify the price, but if these get down to near the £100 mark, I'll be straight down to my local, erm, Amazon website."

So as ever the specialist's job of winning over the Matts of this world is not getting any easier. But in terms of robotic mowers, if the machines are being talked about more in the mainstream, as well as being seen in use by the public both in high-profile commercial settings and increasingly in their neighbours' back gardens - hopefully more and more specialist dealers will be able to highlight all the unique reasons why purchasing from them should be the consumer’s first and only choice.