Consumer Spending on VPA Wireless Speakers Seen Topping $2 Billion in 2020

Consumer spending for wireless speakers enabled by virtual personal assistants (VPAs) like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana will reach $2.1 billion globally by 2020, from $360 million in 2015, Gartner said in a Monday report. VPA speakers, especially those that are wall-powered, allow for multiple devices to be owned by a household and installed in a home, said the research firm. “The value of the device is derived from the ease of use and the natural, intuitive interaction model,” it said. “If this value is recognized by all household members, it will drive the desire to have terminal access throughout the entire house, not just in one room.” Today's VPAs have limited vocabularies, “but they will improve in the future,” Gartner said. Gartner expects that by 2020, “a natural-language interaction could be delivered that satisfies users and creates scenarios with significantly improved value,” it said. “Adoption of VPA interaction, especially in commercial applications, will occur and drive unit sales for VPA speakers.”