More speakers equal more listeners. Sounds simple enough. The fact is that smart speaker ownership has grown more than 400% in the past six years, which Edison Research says is “fueling audio evolution and growth by providing more reach, increasing time spent with streaming audio, and increasing tune-in frequency.”
During its “Audio in Evolution” webinar, co-presented with Amazon Ads earlier this month, the research firm highlighted five audio megatrends. “The evolution of audio is partially fueled by new audio technology” was one of the five trends uncovered in data culled from Edison’s Infinite Dial reports, Share of Ear studies, and never-before-seen findings from a fourth-quarter 2022 survey of U.S. adults.
According to Edison, smart speaker owners are more likely to be streaming audio listeners than non-smart speaker owners: 91% of all U.S. adults who own a smart speaker reported they have listened to streaming audio in the past month, exceeding non-smart speaker owners by 20%. Smart speaker owners spend nearly five hours per day with audio content, which over-indexes non-smart speaker owners by +12%. Additionally, nearly two-thirds (63%) of smart speaker owners reported they are listening to streaming audio content more frequently since purchasing their smart speakers.
The other four audio megatrends revealed during the webinar include “Streaming audio is thriving, and likely to continue growing”; “Streaming audio offers brands new ways to reach and engage consumers”; “More options for content and providers have led to more listening”; and “New audio technologies have brought audio home, and it’s likely here to stay.”