Smart Speakers Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2018 – 2025

The global smart speakers market has seen accelerated growth in recent years, and according to a recent report by Grand View Research, is expected to be worth USD 39.3 billion by the year 2025, advancing at a significant CAGR of 38.7% during this period. Smart speakers make use of voice recognition technology, which makes it possible for the speaker to understand the commands and accordingly act upon them. All the speakers may have a default ‘wake word’, through which they become activated and indicate that they are ready to perform the duties asked. Some of the most well-known smart speakers in the market come from Microsoft (Cortana), Apple (Siri) and Amazon’s Alexa.

Smart speakers have witnessed continuous modifications in their technology so as to be able to become more multifunctional, which has led to high attractiveness from the consumer side. According to a Pew Research survey conducted in June 2019, 25% of the adult population in the US said that they possess a smart speaker in their homes, although the younger adult population has been more embracing of this technology than the older adults. In the same period, Strategy Analytics data revealed that over 20% of the UK households owned a smart speaker, while Germany had smart speakers in 4.8 million households, amounting to 9.5 million potential users.

Smart speakers are being used for informative, entertainment and leisure purposes, with a voice survey by Adobe in early 2019 revealing that 74% of the users in the US used these speakers for playing music, while weather forecast was the next most popular activity at 66%. In comparison, shopping for items witnessed a fall in percentage as compared to their previous survey in August 2018. Automation of domestic activities and the appeal of human-machine interactions has also given the smart speakers market a huge push. Consumers in developed economies such as Western Europe and the United States are increasingly preferring the smart home concept, which is expected to accelerate demand for this market.

Some of the challenges the market faces include the growing penetration of voice-controlled technologies through other means, such as their integration within homes and vehicles. Moreover, there are also privacy concerns raised by many people, which has been a major reason that a significant proportion of the global population has kept away from adopting smart speakers. The Pew Research survey of 2019 revealed that around 54% of smart speaker owners were concerned about the amount of personal data that these smart speakers are able to collect. Moreover, a recent study revealed that smart speakers can potentially record audio at an average of nearly 20 times per day by mistake, which again has become a major issue plaguing the companies, as this can lead to lawsuits against them. As a result, organizations like Apple, Google and Amazon are treading this space carefully.

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Impact Of COVID-19 On The Market

The current outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has led to government orders for people to stay at home, which has led to an increased usage of smart speakers for gathering information about the disease, along with learning about the pandemic situation in other countries, while also providing relief and recreation in the form of playing music or other recreational activities. According to a very recent data from NPR and Edison Research, 35% of U.S. smart speakers owners say they’re listening to more news and information through their device, and 36% say they’ve increased their consumption of music and entertainment. With the pandemic not showing any drastic signs of slowdown, and the fears of a second wave of the pandemic being considered a reality, the usage of smart speakers can be expected to increase in the coming months.

The smart speakers market has been broadly segmented on the basis of virtual personal assistant, which comprises of Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri, among others, and region.

Some key trends in the market in recent years include:

• Amazon Alexa had the most substantial market share, on the back of immense brand popularity, multiple smart home integrations, support to up and coming market players, and the advantage of being an early mover. According to a survey by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners in 2018, Alexa devices had 70% of market share in the US.
• Google Assistant has also had a fair share in the market, with the emerging economies of India and China expected to play a key role in its growth. According to IDC, 87% of smart speaker sales in Europe go to Amazon and Google, which presents a significant challenge to competitors like Apple and Microsoft to expand their market share.
• North America was the dominant market for smart speakers in 2017, owing to the advanced technologies being practiced in the region, consumer inclination towards smart products, growing demand for IoT-enabled services, as well as presence of the major market players in the region. A study by Loup Ventures in 2019 stated that 75% of US households will possess a smart speaker by 2025.
• Europe is another substantial contributor to the smart speakers market, aided by the growing acceptance of these devices in Western European economies such as Germany, Spain, the UK and France. The Asia Pacific region is expected to advance at a mammoth CAGR of 55% through 2025, with the increase in standard of living in emerging economies, as well as establishment of manufacturing units by major players in the region.

Major companies in the smart speakers industry include Google, Amazon and Apple, with others such as Xiaomi also climbing up the ladder, especially in the price-sensitive Asia Pacific market. These companies focus on providing significant upgradations to their customers, along with continued R&D of their products. Another strategy is acquisition of customers through attractive offers on various products of the particular company on the purchase of their smart speakers.

Some recent developments in the smart speakers space include:

• Pearson India has introduced an English-speaking course on Amazon Alexa called MyPedia. The course can be started by the command “Alexa, open MyPedia”, or “Alexa, I want to learn English,” and consists of a collection of some stories along with quizzes, trivia, fun facts and rewards. The MyPedia skill can be accessed by users on Echo Show smart displays, all Amazon Echo smart speakers, along with Alexa app for smartphones.
• Google Assistant has very recently updated its ‘Your Places’ tab, which would enable users to manually check the weather and traffic conditions in and around the person’s locations of interest, such as one’s office, home or a personal favorite shopping area.

Xiaomi patented a smart speaker design in April 2020, which has been published by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Early indications based on the product design point to an absence of buttons, meaning that it will only be controllable through the touchpad or by voice.