It’s been nearly seven years since the release of the Amazon Echo first generation. Today, there are a ton of options available to consumers in the market for a smart home assistant. Will you choose a smart speaker or a smart display? Google, Amazon, Apple, or another brand? A deluxe or budget model?
With the AI voice assistant market expected to keep growing, CivicScience looked at current market trends surrounding smart speakers/displays and indicators for the year ahead.
Fourth quarter survey results reveal that just under 40% of U.S. adults (n=45,389) currently own a smart speaker, such as the Google Home Mini or Amazon Echo Dot. Ownership has grown steadily over the past several years, and is 22% higher than Q4 2019 rates.
However, tracking shows things remained relatively static in the second half of 2021 (among all age groups), raising the question of whether or not the market is plateauing.
Smart Displays
The introduction of smart displays further diversifies the smart home assistant market. Devices such as Google Home Hub and Amazon Echo Show combine both the AI voice assistance of smart speakers with a visual interface, giving users the option to toggle between a screen and voice commands.
Current ownership of smart displays among survey respondents stands at 25%, up from 18% in Q4 2020. Intent to own and overall awareness have also increased from year to year.
Value to Users
Ownership is one thing, usage is another. Owners of smart home assistants vary widely in how they use (or don’t use) their devices. A fascinating insight revealed by the survey finds that 61% of smart speaker or smart display owners feel the devices are “not at all important” in their daily lives.
Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media Strategic writes the CivicScience study provides useful information on several fronts – how frequently smart speakers are used and by whom (yes, it skews young). It also turns out Amazon Prime members are significantly more apt to shop via Alexa. After all, that's essentially why Amazon was interested in this technology in the first place.
Jacobs' blog post for today notes Techsurvey has unveiled the top “use case” among smart speaker owners is listening to a broadcast radio station.
According to Jacobs COVID tracking studies, conducted in three waves back in 2020, indicated that smart speakers became a primary conduit for radio listening – especially in homes where there are no “regular radios.”
But why the obvious lack of momentum for this sector, especially at a time when consumer electronics have never been bigger. In the CivicScience study, that constitutes more than six in ten Americans who have not made the smart speaker plunge. In Techsurvey, it's even more than that, writes Jacobs.
In trhe pre-pandemic Techsurvey 2020 (fielded in January and February – right before COVID), respondents were asked those who had not purchased one of these devices:
The top excuse – “no use for one” – can be a lot of things, from lack of knowledge of the technology to a simple rejection of these gadgets. But the second reason, mentioned by nearly one-third of those who don't own a smart speaker, is more telling.
“Privacy concerns” has been a key stumbling block from the beginning. If you remember the early reviews and commentaries, especially on Amazon devices, there was this “it's listening all the time” part of the devices' narrative. In the scores of focus groups I've conducted since these devices first hit the market, I've heard the same trope:
“I'm not about to bring a device into my home that listens to my conversations.”
According to Jacobs, for smart speakers to become a true mass market success, this isn't just a speed bump – it's a core reason why millions have rejected the technology. And while Google and Apple have skillfully promoted their respective products, neither has adequately addressed this key barrier to ownership.
📻Click Here To Read The Jacobs Blog in Full
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