Nearly a third of US consumers now own smart speakers

According to a new Adobe Analytics survey, voice assistants such as Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant and Siri are becoming increasingly important in the lives of many people.

the A survey of more than 1,000 US consumers last month reveals that people are starting to use voice assistants to play more than just music, check weather forecasts, and set alarms.

Many consumers now use voice assistants to search the web, make calls, view information, get directions, find sports scores, shop, and more.

"Technological trends come and go, but it's clear that the voice is here to stay," said Heidi Besik, product marketing manager at Adobe Group, in a statement. "As a company, we realize that the usefulness of voice assistant technology can outpace the initial discomfort experienced when talking to devices in front of other users, and increasing the use of loudspeakers. smart had the most impact.

In August 2018, 32% of US consumers had a smart speaker, against 28% in January this year, found Adobe. The company has described this increase as "considerable", especially since previous research indicates that most smart speaker sales occur during the holiday season.

In this recent survey, 76% of owners of smart speakers and 38% of non-homeowners reported using voice assistants more often than a year ago. In addition, 71% of owners of smart speakers use them at least once a day, 44% doing it several times a day.

In terms of purchases, Adobe has found that even though consumers do not always buy directly from smart speakers, many use voice assistants to search for products and compare prices.

As the holidays approach the end of the year, 45% of smart homeowners plan to buy another for themselves and 23% plan to buy one for another. Meanwhile, 23% of non-homeowners plan to buy one for themselves and 9% plan to buy one for someone else. After this holiday season, nearly half of consumers (48%) have a smart speaker, said Adobe.

"It's essential for major brands to give the voice as much priority as other channels such as websites and mobiles," Besik said. "They do not move fast, many will miss the boat as they did when smartphones suddenly became ubiquitous."

For those who have not yet jumped into the world of smart speakers, consider first The voice assistance platform will work best for you. The best choices do not work very well together, so when you equip multiple rooms, it's best to stay with one assistant. Currently, our analysts prefer Alexa and Google Assistant, then Siri, then Microsoft Cortana (who still feels a generation or two behind the other three).

Regarding specific devices, PCMag recommends Amazon Echo, affordable Echo Dot, or alarm clock – like Echo Spot for Alexa fans and Sonos Beam for "audiophiles acclimated to Alexa". For "Google Focused Audio Assistant users," we recommend Google Home Max. Those who want to choose between Alexa or Google Assistant should check the Sonos One.