Smart Speaker Owners Listen to More Streaming Audio

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, November 21, 2023 | 11:16am CT

Edison Research

"The evolution of audio is partially fueled by new audio technology" was one of five audio megatrends cited in the Audio in Evolution webinar presented by Edison Research and Amazon Ads earlier this month. The webinar included data from Edison's Infinite Dial reports and Share of Ear studies, along with never-before-seen findings from a Q4 2022 survey of U.S. adults.

Smart speaker ownership has grown over 400% in the past six years, moving from a niche smart-home product to a mainstream household item found in many American households. This ownership is fueling audio evolution and growth by providing more reach, increasing time spent with streaming audio, and increasing tune-in frequency.

Smart speaker owners are more likely to be streaming audio listeners than non-smart speaker owners: 91% of all U.S. adults who own a smart speaker reported they have listened to streaming audio in the past month, which exceeds non-smart speaker owners by 20%. Smart speaker owners also spend more time with audio content overall. They also spend nearly 5 hours per day with audio content, which over-indexes non-smart speaker owners by +12%.

Additionally, smart speakers are adding more opportunities for streaming audio tune-in. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of smart speaker owners reported they are listening to streaming audio content more frequently since purchasing their smart speakers.