The smart speaker segment continues to be led by the Amazon Echo, and sales are growing. The Echo is the choice of 23% of folks using smart speakers, according to new research about smart speaker sales growth from Strategy Analytics.
Amazon dominates the category. Its combined smart speaker line holds a 63% market share. Google is second at a distant 17% and Apple is third with 4%, according to Strategy Analytics.
“Amazon and Google may dominate today’s market, but this will not always be the case,” said David Watkins, the Director of Smart Speakers at Strategy Analytics, in a press release. “Many consumers are ready to consider alternative brands, assuming they meet the high expectations identified in this study, including high quality audio, superior design and device compatibility.”
The market still is fluid. Respondents were asked in July and August what brand they would buy when they shop for their next smart speaker. Fifty-four percent of the 1,011 respondents named Amazon, Google or Apple. That means that 46% potentially could choose lesser known competitors including Bose, Samsung and Sonos.
Smart Speaker Sales Growth
The top ten smart speakers are the Amazon Echo (23%), the Amazon Echo Dot (21%), the Google Home (8%), the Google Home Mini (7%), the Amazon Echo Plus (5%), the Amazon Echo Spot (4%), the Amazon Echo Show (4%), the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition (4%), the Apple HomePod (4%) and the Google Home Max (2%).
Eighty-eight percent of smart speaker homes own at least one Amazon device. The market is differentiated, however, with 31% owning at least one Google smart speaker. The press release points out that this shows that many folks are happy to use products from multiple vendors. That fact is validated by the ownership of smart speakers from multiple companies by 58% of respondents. Placement also is interesting: 62% use smart speakers in the family room, 41% in the bedroom, 39% in the kitchen and 12% in the bathroom.
That uncertainty figures to make the category interesting because it is increasing in popularity. Parks Associates said this week that 11% of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart speaker within the next year. That projection complements findings by IDC in June. The firm said that the smart speaker segment was on pace to grow 26.8% between 2017 and this year and that 549.5 million devices will ship this year.
