Smart Speakers
Smart speakers are amplifying the audio experience as more Americans are adding them to their households annually.
- Smart speaker awareness and ownership
- 35% of P18+ (around 100M people) own a smart speaker in 2022, which has grown significantly from 32% in 2021 (around 82M people).6
- 62% of A18+ who own smart speakers at home listen to AM/FM radio.5
- In 2024, 36% of P12+ own one smart speaker, 21% own two smart speakers and 43% own three or more.1
- The percentage of owners that have three or more smart speakers tripled from 11% in 2018.1
- As of February 2023, 26% of AM/FM radio streaming is done via a smart speaker.7
- 91% of smart speaker owners reported listening to streaming audio in the past month.11
- 63% of smart speaker owners are listening to audio content more frequently since obtaining their smart speaker.11
- 66% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates at least weekly from their smart speakers.11
- 45% of smart speaker owners listen to more news now that they have a smart speaker.11
- 36% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates exclusively through smart speakers.11
- Smart speaker owners listen to audio for four hours and 46 minutes per day.12
- 46% of Millennials own a smart speaker.4
- 35% of Boomers own a smart speaker.4
- Sixty-four percent of smart speaker owners have a household income of $75,000+.5
- Top reasons for getting a smart speaker.7
- Listen to music.
- Ask questions without the need to type.
- Seems like a fun new gadget.
- Top 10 smart speaker ownership by brand in the U.S. as of June 2023:9
- Amazon Echo: 65%
- Google Home: 26%
- Apple HomePod: 21%
- Bose: 17%
- Google Nest: 17%
- Sony: 11%
- JBL: 9%
- Eufy Gene: 8%
- Fabriq: 7%
- Harmon Kardon: 6%
- Increased time with smart speakers6
- Share of time spent listening to audio through a smart speaker among the U.S. population 13+ has grown 400% - from one to five.
- Share of time spent listening to podcasts through a smart speaker has grown 200% - from two to six.
- Reasons for wanting a smartspeaker:7
- 49% of people say that smart speakers can entertain their children.6
- 63% of people say that they can discover new songs on it.6
- 47% of people say that they can use it to listen to podcasts on it.6
- 51% of people say that they want to replace an old radio.6
- 53% of people say that they want to control smart home devices.6
- 30% of people say that smart speakers can help an elderly person.6
- 24% of people say that smart speakers can help with a disability.6
- Based on smart speaker owners, the percentage who listen to audio on smart speaker most often:6
- A18-24 - 4%
- A25-34 - 17%
- A35-44 - 18%
- A45-54 - 28%
- A55-64 - 16%
- A65+ - 21%
- Smart speaker streaming and usage:
- AM/FM radio is No. 1 in ad-supported audio time spent on smart speaker devices (36%), followed by podcasts (26%).2
- Smart speaker owners request about 10.8 different types of tasks on their smart speaker in a typical week.4
- 37% of smart speaker owners have a smart speaker with a screen.4
- 50% of smart speaker owners have heard an advertisement on their smart speaker.6
- How consumers discover new skills/actions for their smart speakers
- Trial and error: 38%5
- Family/friends recommendations: 35%4
- E-mails from smart speaker brand: 25%4
- Searching smart speaker app: 23%4
- Recommendations from smart speaker: 21%4
- News/tech sites: 19%4
- Company advertisements: 11%4
- Top five smart speaker requests
- Play music.4
- Check the time.4
- Receive reminders.4
- Tell a joke or something else funny.4
- Set a timer/alarm.4
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners have done the following:
- 78% listened to live radio.5
- 67% obtained news updates.5
- 66% made a phone call.5
- 68% played a game.5
- 65% purchased/ordered a product or service.5
- 65% listen to a podcast.6
- 63% obtained information like local information, movie times, recipes, etc.5
- 61% listen to music via a streaming service.5
- 60% have controlled smart home devices.6
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners believe that radio:
- Puts them in a good mood - 47%5
- Is pure entertainment - 44%5
- Keeps them informed/up to date - 43%5
- Is a good source of learning - 30%5
- Among smart speaker owners:
- 82% own an Amazon Alexa2
- 30% own a Google Home2
- 12% of homes own both an Amazon Alexa and a Google Home2
- Share of ad-supported audio time spent on the smart speaker, among persons 18+:8
- AM/FM radio - 50%
- Podcasts - 20%
- Ad-supported Pandora - 14%
- Ad-supported Spotify - 9%
- Ad-supported SiriusXM - 7%
- Time spent listening to the news on smart speaker in a typical week:
- Less than an hour - 22%6
- One hour to less than 3 hours - 44%6
- Three hours or more - 34%6
- Smart speakers' frequency of use in the U.S. in 2023:10
- Daily - 50%
- Monthly - 26%
- Never/Rarely - 24%
Sources: 1) The Infinite Dial 2024, Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media; 2) Edison Research, Share of Ear Q1-Q4 2022; 3) Jacobs Media Tech Survey 2024, Radio in the AI Era; 4) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2020; 5) 2024 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase; 6) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022; 7) Triton Digital, Webcast Metrics, all times/dayparts; 8) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q4 2023 - Q3 2024. Persons 18+; 9) Statista Consumer Insights, June 2023; 10) Enterprise Apps Today, 2023; 11) Audio Megatrends Survey, December 2022; 12) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q1 2023
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