For its annual Devices and Demographics report, Fluent, a people-based marketing platform, polled nearly 2,000 adults and uncovered the latest behaviors on mobile devices, intelligent assistants, and how consumers plan to use these devices in the future.
The key findings include:
From smartphones to home pods, intelligent assistants are becoming widely used with far-ranging implications for the customer experience of the future, says the report. As prices decrease and functionality increases, consumers are finding more reasons to adopt these devices. Sold at less than $40, Amazon Echo dots and Google Home minis made a perfect gift for the 2017 holiday season. As a result, 20% of American households are now owners of a smart home gadget. Consumers utilize intelligent assistants for a wide variety of tasks, from playing music and placing calls to scheduling flights and making mortgage payments. And, while only 11% of Americans said they made a purchase via intelligent assistant in the past 6 months, the battle for households’ share of wallet will move to the forefront as these devices become more pervasive.
To better understand ownership and usage patterns for intelligent assistants, Fluent surveyed over 1,700 American consumers and asked them about the ways they use intelligent assistants on their smartphones and smart home devices.
Amazon made a sound investment by heavily promoting Alexa, says the report. Amazon Echo is currently the most popular smart home device (owned by 41% of those who have a smart home device, followed by Google Home at 25%).
Which smart home device do you have in your household? (Among total US who have a smart home device | |
Amazon Echo | 41% |
Google Home | 25% |
Samsung SmartThings | 20% |
Other | 34% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
What do American consumers use smart home devices for? Checking the weather and asking questions! Playing music is also a popular use for smart home pods since many of them were initially built as high-quality speakers.
What do you use your smart home device for? (Among those who have a smart home device) | Total US |
Check weather | 44% |
Ask questions | 41% |
Playing audio | 33% |
Make calls | 28% |
Shopping | 25% |
Play games | 23% |
Cooking help: recipes, timers, etc. | 22% |
Check/update calendar | 22% |
Check traffic | 17% |
Control TV | 16% |
Plan trips (find flights, hotels) | 13% |
Control house utilities (thermostat, lights, locks, kitchen) | 13% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
As intelligent assistants become widespread, consumers will use them for a variety of functions, including shopping. More than a quarter of smart home owners have made a purchase through their device, indicating that shopping through intelligent assistants has the potential to shake up the online marketplace.
Intelligent assistants not only simplify the purchase process but also help to channel purchases via specific platforms. The type of smart home gadget that comes into a person’s house will have implications for the products they will buy. For example, an Amazon Echo owner can order an item from their Amazon wish list with just a couple of words, solidifying Amazon’s e-commerce lead. Men are more likely to take advantage of these shopping conveniences than women.
Have you ever made a purchase through your smart home device? (Among those who have a smart home device) | Total US | Female | Male |
Percent who say: Yes | 27% | 19% | 36% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
For some tasks, such as asking for information, consumers prefer the intelligent assistant on their smartphone rather than the smart home device. Cross-device continuity is expected, which is why Amazon designed Alexa to be compatible with both iPhones and Androids. Google Now is automatically available for any smartphone that uses any Google apps, putting Google at an advantage compared to Siri, which is confined to Apple devices.
When at home, are you more likely to ask your smartphone assistant (eg. Siri) or smart home device for information? (Among those who have a smart home device) | Total US |
Equally likely | 27% |
Smart home device | 25% |
Smartphone | 47% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
Every smartphone owner has a built-in intelligent assistant, and an increasing number of people take advantage of it. 45% of smartphone owners use it at least sometimes and more than 1 in 5 say they use their smartphone assistant “all the time”.
How often do you use the Intelligent Assistant on your smartphone (Siri, Google Assistant, etc.)? (Among those who have a smartphone) | Total US |
Use Intelligent Assistant on your smartphone at least sometimes | 45% |
All the time | 21% |
Sometimes | 24% |
Rarely | 19% |
Never | 23% |
Don't know what that is | 13% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
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Consumers are most likely to use an intelligent assistant on their smartphone to make calls, check the weather, and ask questions. Older consumers (35+) are especially likely to use intelligent assistant on their smartphone for the latter two purposes. Shopping is the fourth most used functionality, a clear signal of consumer expectations.
Which of the following have you used your smartphone assistant for in the past 6 months?(Among those who use AI on smartphone) | Total US | 18-34 | 35+ |
Make calls | 63% | 63% | 63% |
Check weather | 61% | 53% | 64% |
Ask questions | 54% | 47% | 57% |
Shopping | 39% | 38% | 40% |
Play games | 38% | 43% | 37% |
Check/update calendar | 34% | 31% | 35% |
Cooking help: recipes, timers, etc. | 30% | 28% | 31% |
Check traffic | 27% | 24% | 28% |
Plan trips (find flights, hotels) | 19% | 16% | 20% |
Use a translate function | 14% | 15% | 14% |
Control smart house utilities (thermostat, lights, locks, kitchen) | 6% | 9% | 6% |
Other | 17% | 21% | 15% |
Source: Fluent, March 2018 |
As smart home devices become ubiquitous and consumers become comfortable with utilizing intelligent assistants for an ever-increasing number of tasks, businesses will find it necessary to develop partnerships with leaders in the space (such as Alexa, Siri, and Google Now,) or risk being left out in the cold, concludes the report.
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