Amazon Echo Leading Google Home in US, UK and Germany, Cowen Finds

Amazon’s Echo device has a two- to three-times higher penetration in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, with slightly lower penetration in Japan, Cowen's John Blackledge wrote investors Wednesday. Some 55% of those surveyed say they use Echo multiple times a day for music (more than 75%), requesting information (68%), smart home tasks (32%), adding to shopping lists (27%) and ordering food (11%), reported the analyst. He attributes Amazon’s higher penetration for Echo vs. Google Home to its first-mover advantage, better distribution and its ability to leverage the Prime service. Echo has 31% U.S. household penetration; 40% of U.S. Prime households owned an Echo device in December vs. 15% of non-Prime households.