By the time we ring in 2019, almost half of American households will have a smart speaker, according to a new study from Adobe.
The study, released Monday, finds that 32% of the country already owns a smart speaker and another 16% plan on getting one this holiday season. And just as importantly, people are using those speakers.
“Technology trends come and go, but we think voice is here to stay,” said Colin Morris, director of product management for Adobe Analytics, in a statement. “Consumers continue to embrace voice as a means to engage their devices and the Internet. It’s a trend that has fundamentally changed the face of computing.”
A notable indicator of the growing popularity of the speakers is how comfortable people are talking to the device in front of others. And that number is on the rise: 72% of smart speaker owners say they use voice assistants in front of others. (Only 29% of people without a smart speaker are comfortable with doing so.)
Additionally, the study found, smart speaker owners are three times more likely to access voice assistants on their phones than people who don’t own such devices.
As far as usage, the most common commands given to Amazon Echo (or Google Home or Apple HomePod or Samsung’s devices) are what you’d expect: Playing music (70%), getting a weather forecast (64%), and seeking answers to random questions (53%).
But usage is expanding. Approximately 36% of the people surveyed said they use voice services to make a call, 31% use it for smart home commands, 17% order food delivery or takeout, and 16% use it for flight/hotel research.
