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).7
- 62% of A18+ who own smart speakers at home listen to AM/FM radio.6
- 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.8
- 91% of smart speaker owners reported listening to streaming audio in the past month.12
- 63% of smart speaker owners are listening to audio content more frequently since obtaining their smart speaker.12
- 66% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates at least weekly from their smart speakers.12
- 45% of smart speaker owners listen to more news now that they have a smart speaker.12
- 36% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates exclusively through smart speakers.12
- Smart speaker owners listen to audio for four hours and 46 minutes per day.13
- 46% of Millennials own a smart speaker.4
- 35% of Boomers own a smart speaker.4
- Sixty-three percent of smart speaker owners have a household income of $75,000+.6
- 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 2023:10
- 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 speakers7
- 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.7
- 63% of people say that they can discover new songs on it.7
- 47% of people say that they can use it to listen to podcasts on it.7
- 51% of people say that they want to replace an old radio.7
- 53% of people say that they want to control smart home devices.7
- 30% of people say that smart speakers can help an elderly person.7
- 24% of people say that smart speakers can help with a disability.7
- Based on smart speaker owners, the percentage who listen to audio on smart speaker most often: 7
- 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%).3
- Top category purchases made via a smart speaker between 2019-2021 were health and beauty, electronics, household appliances, home and garden, arts, crafts and party supplies.2
- Smart speaker owners request about 10.8 different types of tasks on their smart speaker in a typical week.5
- 37% of smart speaker owners have a smart speaker with a screen.5
- 50% of smart speaker owners have heard an advertisement on their smart speaker.7
- How consumers discover new skills/actions for their smart speakers
- Trial and error: 38%5
- Family/friends recommendations: 35%5
- E-mails from smart speaker brand: 25%5
- Searching smart speaker app: 23%5
- Recommendations from smart speaker: 21%5
- News/tech sites: 19%5
- Company advertisements: 11%5
- Top five smart speaker requests
- Play music.5
- Check the time.5
- Receive reminders.5
- Tell a joke or something else funny.5
- Set a timer/alarm.5
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners have done the following:
- 78% listened to live radio.6
- 67% obtained news updates.6
- 66% made a phone call.6
- 68% played a game.6
- 67% purchased/ordered a product or service.6
- 65% listen to a podcast.7
- 63% obtained information like local information, movie times, recipes, etc.6
- 61% listen to music via a streaming service.6
- 60% have controlled smart home devices.6h
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners believe that radio:
- Puts them in a good mood - 48%6
- Is pure entertainment - 45%6
- Keeps them informed/up to date - 44%6
- Is a good source of learning - 31%6
- Among smart speaker owners:
- 82% own an Amazon Alexa3
- 30% own a Google Home3
- 12% of homes own both an Amazon Alexa and a Google Home3
- Share of ad-supported audio time spent on the smart speaker, among persons 18+:
- AM/FM radio - 51%9
- Podcasts - 32%
- Ad-supported Pandora - 10%
- Ad-supported Spotify - 4%
- Ad-supported SiriusXM - 3%
- Time spent listening to the news on smart speaker in a typical week:
- Less than an hour - 22%7
- One hour to less than 3 hours - 44%7
- Three hours or more - 34%7
- Smart speakers' frequency of use in the U.S. in 2023:11
- Daily - 50%
- Monthly - 26%
- Never/Rarely - 24%
Sources: 1) The Infinite Dial 2024, Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media; 2) eMarketer; comScore; December 2021; 3) Edison Research, Share of Ear Q1-Q4 2022; 4) Jacobs Media Tech Survey 2024, Radio in the AI Era; 5) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2020; 6) 2023 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase; 7) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022; 8) Triton Digital, Webcast Metrics, all times/dayparts; 9) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q3 2022 - Q2 2023. Persons 18+; 10) Statista Consumer Insights, June 2023; 11) Enterprise Apps Today, 2023; 12) Audio Megatrends Survey, December 2022; 13) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q1 2023
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