Commentary

Smart Speakers Moving Toward 50% Market Penetration

Digital voice assistants continue to lead the race to the conversions of smart homes.

The penetration of U.S. broadband households with smart speakers will reach 47% by 2022, according to a new study.

More than a fourth (28%) of households already own a smart speaker with a voice assistant, according to the study by Parks Associates.

Further driving the adoption and usage of voice control devices and apps is that more than half (55%) of households find voice control of connected entertainment devices to be appealing.

The most desired function of voice control is to turn or off the TV, with 43% of U.S. households considering voice technology to be an important feature when selecting their next streaming media player or smart TV.

After turning the TV on or off, the most desired entertainment functions of voice assistants are streaming music or audio, changing TV channels, scheduling a program to record, controlling TV volume and searching for movie listings and show times, according to Parks.

Consumers are buying other smart home devices as well.

Many consumers also get more than one smart device, with 16% of U.S. broadband households already owning two or more smart devices. For example, 38% of consumers who own a smart speaker with a voice assistant also have a smart thermostat, according to Parks.

The smart thermostat is the best-selling smart home category, with nearly half of smart thermostats bought last year having been purchased as an upgrade to an older model, with 16% of them being sold through HVAC dealers.

Smart home growth is poised to continue. About a third (34%) of consumers say they have a high intention of purchasing a smart home device.

An earlier study by Adobe estimated that 32% of consumers now own a smart speaker and that nearly half (48%) of U.S. consumers will own one by the end of this year.

No matter the timeframe, around half of the U.S. market is moving to get a smart speaker, a significant market penetration in a relatively short period of time. The big winners here are Amazon and Google, together accounting for around 90% of the entire market.

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