• Which country has the highest number of smart speaker users? China will be home to 85.5 million smart speaker users in 2019, surpassing the 74.2 million in the US. However, penetration will be higher in the US (26.0% of internet users) than in China (10.0%). The US had a head start on smart speaker adoption with the launch of Amazon Echo in November 2014, while JD.com’s DingDong arrived to China in 2016.
• Are smart speakers more widely used in France, Germany or the UK? Smart speakers are most widely used in the UK, at 22.4% of internet users, followed by Germany (17.2%) and France (14.0%). Smart speakers from Amazon, Apple and Google were first sold in the UK, and consumers there have shown a strong interest in using smart speakers to control other smart home devices.

Smart speakers are in a relatively early cycle of adoption in most markets around the world. Many are still adjusting to the notion of having a speaker in their house that is always listening and ready to respond when called upon. However, low competitive pricing on the devices is encouraging fast uptake in key markets.