The phone comes with a custom skin and a voice assistant called Wendy, which provides directions to nearby outlets and answers menu-related questions. The phone “supplements our new and improved mobile app, which now allows for payment and exclusive offers,” said Lisa Deletroz, senior director of marketing at Wendy’s Canada, in a release announcing the program.

While some newer digital devices are struggling to gain a firm foothold in the Chinese marketplace, voice assistants are already well established. The share of internet users who used voice search at least once in the prior month remained effectively unchanged in H1 2020 at 55.3%.

Among total respondents in H1 2020, 46.2% had used tools like Microsoft’s Cortana or Apple’s Siri in the prior month or used voice commands via a smart speaker or similar device. Usage exceeded 50% among respondents ages 16 to 34. Respondents devoted almost as much time to online TV and music streaming as broadcast TV. But social media time exceeded them all.

Douyin, Sina Weibo and WeChat User Penetration Rates. Behind the Numbers. eMarketer’s estimates for Douyin, WeChat and Sina Weibo users in China are updated on a biannual basis in order to continually incorporate the latest changes and developments in consumers’ digital media consumption and technology adoption.

Voice assistants fulfil multiple functions, but these vary from country to country. GWI first asked in 2019 about respondents’ use of voice-activated phone apps like Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana, and smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home.

The research found this trend was driven by higher levels of adoption among men, consumers between the ages of 16 to 29, and those from Brazil’s more affluent socioeconomic classes (A and B).

While many customized experiences are delivered by chatbots such as Bank of America’s Erica or Chase’s Digital Assistant, we’re watching for providers to focus on extending their capabilities. So far, however, consumer demand for chatbots is only lukewarm.

Also, the Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote was the top-selling item. Amazon uses Prime Day to manipulate the retail calendar. By deciding the date of Prime Day, Amazon can dictate the start of shopping seasons. Last year’s October Prime Day served as an early start to holiday shopping, while this year did the same for back-to-school shopping.

In order to arrive at forecasts for growth rates by media and by device, we follow up this analysis with extensive assessments of historical and expected future growth patterns with regard to device adoption, multiple and overlapping device usage, population and demographic factors, and competitors to existing devices and activities.

Behind the Numbers. eMarketer’s worldwide Twitter estimates are updated on a biannual basis to continually incorporate the latest changes and developments in consumers’ digital media consumption and technology adoption.

We expect Apple will lose ecommerce market share this year, dropping from 3.8% to 3.5% after years of mostly maintaining its share. Amazon will also eat some costs on its smart speakers and other Alexa-enabled devices after pushing back its Prime Day sales event from mid-July to closer to the holiday season.

For example, Suki, a voice-enabled, EHR-integrated digital assistant, leverages machine learning and natural language processing capabilities to complete administrative tasks.

Some 41.5% of respondents said they used voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana at least once per month; uptake remained higher among males than females (at 44.5% and 38.8%, respectively). Respondents living in affluent homes were more likely to be voice assistant users as well, at 47.3%.

It’s no surprise Big Tech is gunning for the wearables space considering the growing market opportunity, especially on the back of the pandemic: 54% of US adults used a wearable to track at least one health metric in 2020—up 10 percentage points from 2019, per Rock Health’s 2020 Digital Health Consumer Adoption report.

But amid rising adoption and usage of OTT video services, “other connected devices” have become dominant for consumers to access and consume digital video content. For the first time in 2019, average time spent with video on “other connected devices” surpassed mobile video and will extend that lead in the coming years.

In China, the adoption of mobile devices is already widespread, so as adults spend more and more time on their smartphones, time spent with smartphone-centric digital media will naturally tick up. In India, where adoption is still relatively low, TV and radio take up a lot of media time. But as the smartphone expands its reach, time spent with digital media will reliably spike among users there.

The pandemic forced adoption of mobile purchasing behaviors among a broader set of consumers. “You had a maturation of the adoption curve in a lot of [mobile services during the pandemic],” said Michael Jaconi, co-founder and CEO of mobile commerce company Button.

Digital leaders have bet on virtual assistants to drive engagement and reduce servicing costs. But customers don’t yet see the value: Only 5.1% of respondents rate it "extremely valuable,” indicating that FIs need to market this feature more effectively.

Internet adoption among seniors remains low, despite a boost from lockdowns and pandemic-related travel restrictions. We estimate that the penetration rate among people ages 65 and older in China will be just 41.8% this year and won’t reach the halfway mark until the end of 2025. However, this cohort will see the fastest growth year over year, at 14.2% in 2021 and 10.6% in 2022.

Overall usage of voice command tools such as Siri, Cortana, and smart speakers rose to 30.7% in H1 2020. Here too, young people were most likely to take up the option. Even smartphone ownership was somewhat more widespread in H1 2020 than the year prior, at 95.9%. By contrast, some devices are gradually losing appeal.

Voice assistants are a different matter. More than half (54.2%) of all internet users polled used a smartphone or smart speaker to activate a digital voice assistant such as Siri or Cortana in the month prior to polling. Usage reached 61.6% among affluents.

Trend: Crypto Adoption Will Go Mainstream as DeFi Faces Its First Major Hurdle. More firms than ever are planning to launch crypto features, which will drive crypto adoption despite a drop in trading volume—Coinbase’s trading volumes fell 29% in Q3, for instance.

Behind the Numbers. eMarketer’s worldwide social network user estimates are updated on a biannual basis in order to continually incorporate the latest changes and developments in consumers’ digital media consumption and technology adoption.

Smart speakers deserve little of the blame for Xers’ digital overdose, as penetration of that device is lackluster. We estimate 33.9% of Xers will be monthly users of them this year. In Morning Consult’s April polling, just 26% of 45-to-54s who own smart speakers reported increasing their usage during the pandemic.

Smartphones are also integral to the rising penetration of voice search, via services like Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri. Overall, more than one-third (34.8%) of internet users polled had used a voice assistant or smart speaker in the month prior to polling.