Amazon Lifts Wi-Fi Speakers Category, Selling More Than Sonos in 2016, Says Report

Amazon generated 77 percent of the increase in volume demand for Wi-Fi based wireless speakers in 2016, surpassing market leader Sonos, which in 2014 had half of the Wi-Fi speaker market, said a Strategy Analytics report Monday. Global shipments of Wi-Fi-based wireless speakers grew by 62 percent last year to 14 million units, said SA, estimating Amazon shipped more than 5 million Echo speakers vs. 4 million-plus for Sonos. Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo speakers were a “winning formula,” said analyst David Watkins. Demand for Amazon's branded devices is having “largely an additive effect on the overall wireless speaker market particularly when you consider that the popular Echo Dot is often paired via Bluetooth to a better quality speaker,” said Watkins. Although Sonos is "losing share" as new players enter the category, its "dominant position at the high-end of the market remains untouched,” said Watkins, who said Apple’s upcoming HomePod will pose more of a direct challenge to Sonos with its high price point and focus on sound quality. Intelligent home speakers, such as Echo and Google Home, are expected to make up nearly 90 percent of all Wi-Fi speakers by 2022, up from 42 percent last year, said the research firm.