Amazon dominates US market for voice-controlled speakers
The e-commerce giant's Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices will claim a 70.6 per cent share of the US market this year
The Amazon Echo, a voice-controlled virtual assistant, is seen at its product launch for Britain and Germany in London, Britain, September 14, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
Amazon is dominating the nascent market for voice-controlled speakers, research firm eMarketer said on Monday.
The e-commerce giant's Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices will claim a 70.6 per cent share of the US market this year, the study found. The speakers feature Alexa, Amazon's voice-controlled aide, which users can tell to play music, order an Uber or turn on the house lights.
That puts it far ahead of Alphabet Inc's Google Home, a similar gadget that has a 23.8 per cent share, and less successful offerings from other tech companies. The number of active US users will more than double for the devices this year, to 35.6 million, eMarketer said.
Amazon's Alexa upgraded as 'style assistant'
The report underscores Amazon's progress in making Alexa and its respeech-recognition technology an integral part of customers' lives. More users means more data that can improve Alexa's understanding and could make it a top platform for voice, like Windows is for desktop.
Amazon does not disclose Echo sales figures but has said it had trouble keeping the product in stock. Device sales and extra revenue from shoppers placing orders via Alexa could generate $10 billion for Amazon by 2020, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said in a recent note. And that does not include potential revenue from others using Alexa as a platform.
Google's share is expected to grow, though. Tests by analysts have shown the technology underpinning the Google Home to match or be superior to competitors. A survey by Mahaney found the device's brand awareness in the United States already equalled 80 per cent of Alexa's, despite being on the market for fewer months.
Amazon, Flipkart battle in India for e-commerce's 'last frontier'
The statistics from eMarketer focused on speakers and left out other virtual assistants: notably, Apple Inc's Siri and Microsoft Corp's Cortana. More than 60 million in the United States will use virtual assistants at least once monthly in 2017, the report said. That's over a quarter of US smartphone users.
The e-commerce giant's Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices will claim a 70.6 per cent share of the US market this year, the study found. The speakers feature Alexa, Amazon's voice-controlled aide, which users can tell to play music, order an Uber or turn on the house lights.
That puts it far ahead of Alphabet Inc's Google Home, a similar gadget that has a 23.8 per cent share, and less successful offerings from other tech companies. The number of active US users will more than double for the devices this year, to 35.6 million, eMarketer said.
Amazon's Alexa upgraded as 'style assistant'
The report underscores Amazon's progress in making Alexa and its respeech-recognition technology an integral part of customers' lives. More users means more data that can improve Alexa's understanding and could make it a top platform for voice, like Windows is for desktop.
Amazon does not disclose Echo sales figures but has said it had trouble keeping the product in stock. Device sales and extra revenue from shoppers placing orders via Alexa could generate $10 billion for Amazon by 2020, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said in a recent note. And that does not include potential revenue from others using Alexa as a platform.
Google's share is expected to grow, though. Tests by analysts have shown the technology underpinning the Google Home to match or be superior to competitors. A survey by Mahaney found the device's brand awareness in the United States already equalled 80 per cent of Alexa's, despite being on the market for fewer months.
Amazon, Flipkart battle in India for e-commerce's 'last frontier'
The statistics from eMarketer focused on speakers and left out other virtual assistants: notably, Apple Inc's Siri and Microsoft Corp's Cortana. More than 60 million in the United States will use virtual assistants at least once monthly in 2017, the report said. That's over a quarter of US smartphone users.