Analyst Lowers 2019 Projections for Voice Shopping; Says Echo Share to Dip

EMarketer lowered 2019 projections for smart speaker buyers and shoppers, the researcher said Thursday, now estimating 27 percent of U.S. smart speaker users will use a device to make a purchase next year vs. the 31 percent previously projected. A small number of people use speakers for shopping, said the researcher, with voice commerce this year expected to reach $2.1 billion, or 0.4 percent of U.S e-commerce volume. By activity, 80 percent of smart speaker owners 14 and older will use the device next year for audio; 73 percent for inquiries and 35 percent for smart home control. Amazon’s share will drop below two-thirds of U.S. smart speaker users for the first time next year, said the report, predicting Alexa’s share at 63.3 percent, Google’s at 31 percent and others comprising 12 percent, with some users adopting more than one platform. For 2018, Alexa penetration is estimated at 66.6 percent, Google Assistant at 29.5 percent and other voice platform penetration at 8.3 percent. Next year in the U.S., 74.2 million people will use a smart speaker, said the report, up 15 percent over 2018; some 27 percent of U.S. adults will use one by year-end 2019.