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).5
- 61% of A18+ who own smart speakers at home listen to AM/FM radio.4
- 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.6
- 91% of smart speaker owners reported listening to streaming audio in the past month.10
- 63% of smart speaker owners are listening to audio content more frequently since obtaining their smart speaker.10
- 66% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates at least weekly from their smart speakers.10
- 45% of smart speaker owners listen to more news now that they have a smart speaker.10
- 36% of smart speaker owners obtain news updates exclusively through smart speakers.11
- Smart speaker owners listen to audio for 4 hours and 16 minutes per day.7
- 46% of Millennials own a smart speaker.2
- 35% of Boomers own a smart speaker.2
- Sixty-five percent of smart speaker owners have a household income of $75,000+.4
- Top reasons for getting a smart speaker.5
- Listen to music.
- Ask questions without the need to type.
- Seems like a fun new gadget.
- Top 6 smart speaker ownership by brand in the U.S. as of March 2024:8
- Amazon Echo: 65%
- Google Home: 24%
- Apple HomePod: 18%
- Google Nest: 17%
- Bose: 14%
- JBL Link Series: 12%
- Increased time with smart speakers5
- 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:5
- 49% of people say that smart speakers can entertain their children.5
- 63% of people say that they can discover new songs on it.5
- 47% of people say that they can use it to listen to podcasts on it.5
- 51% of people say that they want to replace an old radio.5
- 53% of people say that they want to control smart home devices.5
- 30% of people say that smart speakers can help an elderly person.5
- 24% of people say that smart speakers can help with a disability.5
- Based on smart speaker owners, the percentage who listen to audio on smart speaker most often:5
- A18-24 - 4%
- A25-34 - 17%
- A35-44 - 18%
- A45-54 - 28%
- A55-64 - 16%
- A65+ - 21%
- Smart speaker streaming and usage:
- Smart speaker owners request about 10.8 different types of tasks on their smart speaker in a typical week.3
- 37% of smart speaker owners have a smart speaker with a screen.3
- 50% of smart speaker owners have heard an advertisement on their smart speaker.5
- How consumers discover new skills/actions for their smart speakers
- Trial and error: 38%3
- Family/friends recommendations: 35%3
- E-mails from smart speaker brand: 25%3
- Searching smart speaker app: 23%3
- Recommendations from smart speaker: 21%3
- News/tech sites: 19%3
- Company advertisements: 11%3
- Top five smart speaker requests
- Play music.3
- Check the time.3
- Receive reminders.3
- Tell a joke or something else funny.3
- Set a timer/alarm.3
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners have done the following:
- 78% listened to live radio.4
- 66% obtained news updates.4
- 66% made a phone call.4
- 67% played a game.4
- 63% purchased/ordered a product or service.4
- 64% listen to a podcast.4
- 62% obtained information like local information, movie times, recipes, etc.4
- 60% listen to music via a streaming service.4
- 59% have controlled smart home devices.4
- Smart speaker owners who are radio listeners believe that radio:
- Puts them in a good mood - 46%4
- Is pure entertainment - 43%4
- Keeps them informed/up to date - 43%4
- Is a good source of learning - 30%4
- Among smart speaker owners:
- 78% own an Amazon Alexa7
- 30% own a Google Home7
- Share of ad-supported audio time spent on the smart speaker, among persons 18+:7
- AM/FM radio - 48%
- Podcasts - 19%
- Ad-supported Pandora - 13%
- Ad-supported Spotify - 9%
- Ad-supported SiriusXM - 5%
- Ad-supported Amazon Music - 5%
- Time spent listening to the news on smart speaker in a typical week:
- Less than an hour - 22%5
- One hour to less than 3 hours - 44%5
- Three hours or more - 34%5
- Smart speakers' frequency of use in the U.S. in 2023:9
- Daily - 50%
- Monthly - 26%
- Never/Rarely - 24%
Sources: 1) The Infinite Dial 2024, Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media; 2) Jacobs Media Tech Survey 2024, Radio in the AI Era; 3) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2020; 4) 2024 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase; 5) NPR, Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022; 6) Triton Digital, Webcast Metrics, all times/dayparts; 7) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q4 2023 - Q3 2024. Persons 18+; 8) Statista Consumer Insights, March 2024; 9) Enterprise Apps Today, 2023; 10) Audio Megatrends Survey, December 2022;
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