Finishing up our series on voice tech and smart speakers, today we explore how multi-device ownership is true for smart home products, just as it is for devices more generally.
Among those who currently own a smart speaker (e.g. an Echo or HomePod), we see they’re considerably more likely than average to own the other types of smart home products tracked in the chart too. They’re 47% more likely than average to have a smart utility product, for instance, and almost three-quarters have a smart entertainment product like a smart TV or wireless speaker, too. In fact, the average Smart Speaker Owner owns an additional two smart home products.
Above all, this shows how smart assistants tend to be the ‘gateway’ to the smart home ecosystem. As interest in devices like the Echo and HomePod takes off, the smart home as a whole could follow suit. This represents a big opportunity for manufacturers to market other smart home products via smart speakers. Amazon has seen clear potential here too: there’s a possibility the company could be building its own smart devices to build a more complete smart home ecosystem around the Echo products.
All this said, for most consumers, it’s likely to be smartphones rather than smart assistants that are the entry point to smart homes. Just 37% of those who use smart security and utility products say they also have a voice-controlled assistant. Smartphones stand out because they offer consumers the chance to control their smart home products outside of the house, and Apple has even introduced its own Homekit platform that allows control of all aspects of the smart home from an iPhone, iPad or Watch.
Smart Speaker Users are defined as internet users aged 16-64 who currently use a voice-controlled smart assistant.
