Loyalty or Lock-In? Most Smart Speaker Users Won’t Budge From Amazon or Google

More than two-thirds of current owners of Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers are planning to buy another smart speaker within the next six months, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. The report, Smart Speaker User Survey: Brand Awareness and Ownership, also found that 75% of Amazon smart speaker owners would choose another Amazon speaker, and 69% of Google owners would choose another Google product. The report concludes that “This may simply suggest high levels of satisfaction, or a recognition that the technical platforms are different and that switching would involve unwanted complexity.”

Other key findings from the research include:

• 24% of respondents already own at least one smart speaker
• Amazon and Google account for 94% of all smart speakers in use
• More than a quarter of all respondents intend to buy a smart speaker in the next 6 months

“The early runners in the fast-growing smart speaker market look set to dominate for some time,” says David Mercer, Principal Analyst and the report’s author. “High customer satisfaction levels and the possibility of platform ‘lock-in’ will make it challenging for competitor platforms to carve out significant market share in the near term.”

“At this early stage it appears that Amazon and Google are successfully meeting customer needs, in spite of adopting contrasting strategies,” comments David Watkins, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Smart Speakers service. “This is good and bad news for competitors: it will be tough to dislodge Amazon and Google, but new approaches to smart speaker design and user experience can help win over new customers.”