What Does Growth Look Like?

This year, 24.9 million US millennials will use a smart speaker. That's more than a third of the millennial population and a 38.3% increase from 2017, according to eMarketer estimates.

Unsurprisingly, millennials—specifically older millennials—are the core smart speaker demographic, as they've adopted the technology early on. This growth will also continue to outpace other generations.

By the end of the forecasting period (2020), we expect 30.5 million millennials in the US will use a smart speaker at least once per month.

This week, we're looking at the smart speaker audience. Each day, we'll delve into a different demographic and see what usage looks like across various age groups. Previously, we took a look at kids and teens. Next up: millennials.

Unsurprisingly, millennials—specifically older millennials—are the core smart speaker demographic, as they've adopted the technology early on. This growth will also continue to outpace other generations.

"Older millennials are more likely than younger millennials to use the speaker because they have their own households and have the funds to purchase the device," said eMarketer forecasting analyst Jaimie Chung.

What Does Their Smart Speaker Usage Look Like?

Being the most tech-savvy age group, they use the speaker for all of its functionalities—as a smart home hub, to play music from their streaming accounts or to order an Uber.

And because they are early adopters, millennials are patient with the technology when it may not fully understand their queries.

Overall, it comes down to convenience. "Millennials spend the most time with screens, and the speaker allows for a screen- and hands-free option for all of the basic tasks that they rely on devices for in their day-to-day life," Chung said.

More on Smart Speakers from eMarketer

Podcasts:

• Voice Control Forces Marketers to Think Differently
• The Starting Gun Has Fired for the Voice Race

Articles:

• eMarketer Releases New Smart Speaker Figures
• Amazon Echo Losing Share as Speaker Rivalry Heats Up

Reports:

• Marketing Beyond the Screen: Using Voice Technology to Boost Brand Engagement
• What’s Next for Voice Control?: Digital Assistants, Smart Speakers and the IoT
• Hey Alexa, Who’s Using Smart Speakers?: eMarketer’s Forecast for 2018