The Amazon Echo continues to dominate the U.S. smart speaker market. While the retailer’s share of the market is expected to shrink slightly in 2020 and 2021, but it will continue to hold a commanding lead over its competitors.
Amazon’s share of the U.S. smart speaker market is expected to contract slightly in 2020 and 2021, according to new research from eMarketer, but the dip is unlikely to faze the e-tailer whose popular Alexa-powered Echo devices enjoy a commanding lead over segment competitors Google and Apple.
eMarketer released its latest smart speaker shipping estimates on Monday, which puts Amazon’s market share at 72.9% in 2019, up 2% from the year prior. That figure is expected to decline to 69.7% in 2020 and 68.2% in 2021. However, that market share is expected to be double that of its nearest competitor, Google, which held a 31.1% piece of the pie in 2019. The search firm is expected to hold a market share amounting to 31.7% and 32% in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Apple’s HomePod is included in the report’s “Other” manufacturers, a group of smart speaker makers that includes Apple’s speaker, the Sonos One, and others. In 2019 some 17.9% of smart speaker users owned a device made by one of the “other” manufacturers. That group’s share is expected to increase to 18.4% in 2020 and 18.8% in 2021, according to eMarketer.
eMarketer expects to see the smart speaker market to grow to 83.1 million users this year, up 13.7% year-over-year. Growth is anticipated to fall into the single digits in 2021.
“Since Amazon first introduced the Echo, it has built a convincing lead in the U.S. and continues to beat back challenges from top competitors,” said Victoria Petrock, a principal analyst at eMarketer. “We had previously expected Google and Apple to make more inroads in this market, but Amazon has remained aggressive. By offering affordable devices and building out the number of Alexa skills, the company has maintained Echo’s appeal.”
