Survey Finds Smart Speakers Growth Up 78% Year Over Year

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, January 7, 2019 | 12:36pm CT

NPR Edison Research

The latest survey from NPR and Edison Research, conducted after the December 2018 holidays, confirms continued increases in the U.S. voice-activated smart speaker market. 53 million adults 18+ in the U.S., or 21% of the population, now own at least one smart speaker, and the total number of devices in homes has increased 78% year-over-year. This new data from The Smart Audio Report, a recurring study launched in 2017, was presented Monday during the CTA Research Summit at CES.

According to the nationally-representative telephone survey of 1,000+ persons 18+, the average smart speaker household now features 2.3 devices, up from an average 1.7 devices per household at this time last year. Other key findings from The Smart Audio Report Winter 2018 ownership survey include:

• 52% of all smart speaker owners report using their device daily
• 8% of people in the U.S. got a smart speaker during the 2018 holiday season, between Black Friday and the end of December 2018
• 14 million in the U.S. got their first smart speaker device in 2018

"The growth in ownership, particularly the increase in devices per household, really speaks to the tremendous utility of voice assistant technology," said Edison Research Senior VP Tom Webster. "While these devices initially served as audio appliances, they are now becoming integrated into the fabric of everyday life for tens of millions of Americans."

The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research, which debuted in June 2017, is a recurring study on trends in smart speaker ownership and user behavior. A full archive of research from the Report is available at www.npr.org/smartaudio.