• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, January 9, 2018

Smart speakers may be putting a dent in smartphone usage.

Consumers who own in-home digital voice assistants use their smartphones less for online purchasing and entertainment, based on a study released at CES this week.

The majority (66%) of consumers who own smart speakers were found to use their smartphones for fewer applications in the home since getting their smart speaker.

The study comprised a survey of 21,000 consumers in 19 countries conducted by Harris Interactive for Accenture. The sample in each country was representative of the online population there and those surveyed ranged in age from 14 years old to those over 55.

The majority (64%) of consumers use their smartphones less for entertainment and 58% use them less for online purchasing, with 56% using them less for information searching.

Year-on-year growth of smart voice speakers is greater than 50% in all 19 countries surveyed.

At this trajectory, ownership will reach one-third of the online population in China, India, the U.S., Brazil and Mexico by the end of this year. Here’s the breakdown of levels of ownership by country projected for this year, as a percentage of the online population in that country:

• 39% -- India
• 37% -- United States
• 34% -- Brazil
• 33% -- China
• 26% -- Germany
• 24% -- United Kingdom

Like last year, the interest in voice-activated devices is off the charts at CES in Las Vegas this week.

Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home are just getting started.