PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- For the 12 months ending September 2018, unit sales of voice-enabled speakers increased 36 percent compared to the same timeframe year ago, according to The NPD Group's new Streaming Audio Speaker Total Market Report. Dollar sales over the same timeframe increased 15 percent year over year, totaling $2.7 billion in the U.S.
While consumers are steadily adopting voice technology, many are choosing to enter the market at lower price points. During the 12 months ending September, voice-enabled speakers priced under $100 held 76 percent of the market based on unit sales, and slightly less than half the market based on dollar sales (44 percent).
Amazon and Google remain the two top-selling voice-enabled speaker brands, with more than three-quarters of U.S. unit sales combined, but new additions to the market are working to appeal to consumers who are looking for superior sound quality and are willing to spend more for it. In the 12 months ending September, voice-enabled speakers priced between $200 and $400 made up 5 percent of unit sales. The following brands are the top four in the industry in voice-enabled speaker unit sales: Amazon, Google, JBL, Sonos.
"A strategic imperative to quickly increase installed bases, fueled by significant holiday promotions, will make for strong Q4 unit sales of voice-enabled speakers," said Stephen Baker, vice president, technology industry advisor for The NPD Group. "With speakers being the gateway into the Smart Home, growing the installed base to drive consumer recognition of the value of these devices will allow adjacent categories to flourish as well, such as locks, light bulbs, smart displays, and mesh Wi-Fi systems."
Methodology
The Streaming Audio Speaker Total Market report combines NPD's Retailer Tracking Service point-of-sale data, Checkout E-commerce data, and estimated sales to achieve a total market view.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
NPD offers data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help our clients grow their businesses in a changing world. Over 2000 companies worldwide rely on us to help them measure, predict, and improve performance across all channels, including brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. We have offices in 27 cities worldwide, with operations spanning the Americas, Europe, and APAC. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, B2B technology, consumer technology, e-commerce, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, juvenile products, media entertainment, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, toys, travel retail, games, and watches / jewelry. For more information, visit npd.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdgroup and @npdtech.
SOURCE NPD
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