Australia Smart Speaker Adoption Hits 5 Percent, Outpacing U.S. Growth, Trailing Canada
- 5% of Australians 12 years or older have access to smart speakers after only about nine months since launch according to Edison Research
- The adoption rate exceeds the U.S. in year one, but trails Canada
- Slightly longer time in market for smart speakers in market in Canada and the availability of Amazon Alexa in late 2017 may account for the faster adoption rate
Smart speaker adoption rose to 5% of the 12+ population in Australia after just over six months since Google Home first landed on the continent. Edison Research surveyed the 12-years and older populations in the first quarter of 2018 in Australia, Canada and the U.S. and found that 5%, 8% and 17% respectively had access to smart speakers.
How the Smart Speaker Adoption Rates Stack Up
Google Home launched in Australia in late July 2017 and in Canada in late June. Amazon Echo arrived in Canada in November 2017, but not until February 2018 in Australia. Amazon Echo launched in the U.S. in limited release in late 2014 followed by Google Home in November 2016. U.S. consumers didn’t reach 7% ownership rates for three years whereas Australians are nearing that mark in about one quarter of the time. Smart speaker availability in the U.S. and the extensive media coverage no doubt has helped drive faster adoption in both Australia and Canada. An interesting finding of Edison’s Infinite Dial Australia 2018 is that Australian awareness of Google Home smart speakers actually exceeds that of Americans despite the longer time in market.
Amazon Alexa (i.e. Echo smart speaker) awareness is much lower in Australia but the device didn’t even arrive in the country until February of this year. The timing of Alexa’s launch in Australia may account for the difference in adoption rate with Canada. Canadians were able to start purchasing Amazon Echo in November and it accounted for about one-third of smart speaker ownership according to Edison Research’s Infinite Dial Report Canada 2018, published in the same time period. Given a few more months of Amazon Echo availability, we may well see Australians reach 7% adoption or higher within the first year since category launch.
Smart Speaker Users Pass 50 Million in U.S. for the First Time
