THE SMART SPEAKER REPORT: Smart speakers could be the fastest-growing digital platform ever — here's how to engage with customers through the devices

This is a preview of The Smart Speaker research report from Business Insider Intelligence.
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The smart speaker has been a runaway success in the handful of years since it hit the market, catapulting from obscurity to the peak of sales lists and cementing itself in the public consciousness.

smart speaker ownership overall

According to primary survey data from Business Insider Intelligence, as many as half of US respondents reported living in a home with a voice-enabled AI device.

The prevalence of smart speakers is changing how companies in a range of spaces — media, e-commerce, smart home, banking, and more — interact with consumers.

For companies looking to sell these speakers and brands looking to engage with their customers through the now-critical medium, it's important to understand how the voice ecosystem works in practice and how it's being used.

To learn more about adoption and habits, we surveyed 2,000 US consumers regarding factors like smart speaker ownership, what brands consumers use, and what they use the devices to do. Our survey data offers critical insights for key stakeholders at companies aiming to promote and use the smart speaker to reach customers.

In The Smart Speaker Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the fast-evolving smart speaker market. First, we provide a glimpse into smart speaker adoption in the US, both overall and by particular demographics. Then, we look at the characteristics of device owners, including how many speakers they own, which types, how often they use them, and what they use them to do. We also break down the top smart speaker use cases and the reasons why they are or aren't resonating with consumers, and advise brands looking to reach their users via this medium how best to do so.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, American Express, Apple, Deezer, Google, Nest, Pandora, Samsung, Spotify, and TuneIn.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

5 years since the first device in its category launched, the smart speaker may be demonstrating one of the fastest rates of consumer adoption of any technology device in history, outpacing even the smartphone, per our data.
More than half of US respondents who said that they live in households with a smart speaker reported having multiple speakers in their household, and nearly all living in households with speakers use them at least once a week.
Media playback, general information, and communication are among the most commonly used features of smart speakers for device users.

In full, the report:

Provides a snapshot of the current state of smart speaker adoption.
Highlights the most important ways that consumers are using the devices and looks at what will come next in key segments.
Identifies key trends in smart speaker and voice assistant design and usage and offers guidance for companies and brands looking to use the platform moving forward.

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