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Summary of our market study
The French market for connected speakers
The installed base of smart speakers is estimated at 960 million units. North America leads the way with a market share of 35.8%.
World leader with over a quarter of sales is Amazon. Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi are making headway in this market.
On the French market, the penetration rate among consumers is estimated at 36%. By 2020, the penetration rate of connected speakers among the French population will be between 10% and 20%.
The smart speaker market, structured around major technology companies with offerings ranging from 50 to 400 euros, is set for continued expansion and innovation, particularly with the development of 5G and advances in AI.
Young people are the main consumers of this technology.
Between 65% and 78% of users use these devices to check the weather, search for information on the Internet. These devices also serve as gateways to culture and the media: 65% of users listen to the radio via them, and 65% indulge in music on free platforms.
Satisfaction levels with these devices are quite high, with an average of 7.5 out of 10.
However, some user experience challenges remain, such as difficulties in understanding requests and formulating queries, highlighting the need for ongoing improvements in artificial intelligence and user interface design.
Players in the smart speaker sector
Global giants
- - Amazon: Touted as the forerunner of the smart speaker revolution with its Echo range, Amazon has long held the top spot in the smart speaker market. Its famous voice assistant, Alexa, has become almost synonymous with smart home interactions, demonstrating the brand's influence in shaping consumer habits around voice-activated technology.
- - Google: Not far behind, Google has entered the fray with its Google Home and Nest products. It has firmly established itself as a leading competitor with its Google Assistant-enabled devices, offering users integrated services and a seamless Google ecosystem experience.
- - Apple: Focusing on superior sound quality and insisting on user data privacy, Apple introduced its HomePod speakers. Apple's products, while high in price, are designed to attract brand-loyal customers and those who appreciate the exclusivity and integration of Siri within the Apple ecosystem.
Asian players
- - Baidu: Baidu's Xiaodu smart speakers have captured significant market share thanks to their advanced AI capabilities and integration into Baidu's extensive internet services, reflecting China's growing influence in the smart technology sector.
- - Alibaba: Alibaba's foray with its Tmall Genie smart speaker addresses a broad customer base in China, leveraging AliGenie, its in-house developed voice assistant, which adds to the competitive edge with its deep understanding of local language nuances.
- - Xiaomi: Known for offering quality technologies at competitive prices, Xiaomi's Mi smart speaker is another testament to the brand's ethos. Xiaomi products often appeal to tech-savvy consumers looking for value for money combined with innovation.
Specialist brands
- Lenovo, LG and JBL: by entering the smart speaker sector, these well-established technology companies have integrated Google Assistant and Alexa into their devices, broadening their product offering and providing consumers with a variety of features.
- - Bose, Sonos and Marshall: these audio-centric brands have made the transition to smart speakers by integrating voice assistance, while continuing to build on their renowned sound engineering, offering high-quality audio experiences.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
A connected speaker, or "smart speaker", is a wireless loudspeaker that incorporates a virtual assistant with artificial intelligence that the user can interact with by speaking. It can, for example, control sound and music remotely, listen to the news, answer questions, communicate the weather, control other connected objects by voice, etc. The global market for connected speakers is booming , with sales jumping 69% in 2020.
The market had already seen an 80% increase between 2018 and 2019. Amazon is still the world leader, albeit in slight decline, with over a quarter of sales. Google speakers (around 20% of sales) come in second, also in slight decline, mainly caused by the emergence on the market of Chinese brands, in particular Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi, which are gradually gaining market share.
Around 20% of French people will have access to at least one connected speaker by 2020. Although forecasts show that the global and French markets are set to continue growing at this rate, the sector is facing growing concerns about the security of personal data.
1.2 A fast-growing global market
In ****, the total number of smart speakers sold is *** million units, an increase of **% on **** and ***% on ****. According toOmdia forecasts, the total number of smart speakers in circulation will reach ***.** million in ****.
Number of connected speakers World, ****-****, in millions of units Source: ****
The size of the global connected speaker market ...
1.3 French market also on the rise
The connected speaker market is a very young one, since the first smart speaker has been on the French market since August ****, it was the Google Home[***].
According to a Hadopi study conducted jointly with CSA in ****, the French connected speaker market will continue to grow strongly and reach a penetration ...
1.4 The French market is dominated by foreign brands
The French smart speaker market is almost exclusively made up of foreign brands. The vast majority of speakers come from American brands (***). Wizzili offers a voice assistant designed primarily for family use. Meanwhile, French company LinTo, in a slightly different register, offers a voice interface aimed at businesses.
Market share of ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Demand for connected loudspeakers versus other information and communication terminals
The use of connected speakers more than doubled between **** and ****. In fact, the proportion of the French population aged ** and over having used a connected speaker in the last six months rose from *% in **** to **% in ****. [***] This sharp rise can be explained by the confinements of ****, increasing the time spent in ...
2.2 User profile: young, urban consumers
Access to a connected speaker is highest in the**-** age group (***). The share of access then decreases with each category, with **-** year-olds having access for a quarter of them in ****, **% among **-** year-olds, then **% and *% among **-** year-olds and **+ year-olds. the proportion has particularly increased between **** and **** among **-** ...
2.3 Changing consumer habits
Voice assistants: Voice assistants are the main component of the connected speaker, along with the speaker itself (***). Connected speakers come fourth, accounting for **% of voice assistant uses.
Rate of use of voice assistants France, ****, in Source: ****
Connected speakers: Connected speakers are widely used to search for information. The main information-seeking queries ...
2.4 Strong seasonal demand
The graph below represents the proportion of searches for a given keyword in a specific region and for a specific period, in relation to the time when the rate of use of this keyword was highest (***). Here, the keyword is "connected speaker", the region "France" and the search spans the period ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A market structured around a few digital giants
Value chain for connected speaker manufacturers (***):
Smart speaker brands are primarily concerned with design, marketing and productcommunication . Production is often outsourced to subcontractors. [***]
Distribution then takes place through a variety of channels, including in-house sales in the brand's own boutiques, in specialist or mass-market stores, or on e-commerce platforms.
The following ...
3.2 Largely foreign production
Connected speakers on the French market come overwhelmingly from American brands (***). [***]
However, we can see from the table below that since ****, Amazon, which very clearly dominated the market with three quarters of sales in ****, now only has a quarter of the market in ****, although still the leader. What's more, Asian brands ...
3.3 Digitalized distribution
E-commerce is becoming essential:
The distribution of smart speakers is close to the distribution trends of consumer electronics and high-tech in particular. Consumer electronics arrive on the French market directly via the import subsidiaries of foreign groups, or via traders, who concentrate the international manufacturing offer, then redistribute it to the ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Offer typology
The table below shows the main connected speakers on the market and their prices. We can see that the first players to have positioned themselves in this segment, namely Google and Amazon, who dominate the global market, have a more extensive offering. They offer an entry-level product at €**(***). Overall, prices range ...
4.2 Supply trends
One of the major trends in the connected speaker market is the desire to democratize the use of these technologies for as many people as possible, by offering affordable entry-level equipment . Google and Amazon offer speakers starting at ** euros. Apple, whose first speaker was sold for around *** euros, lowered its prices ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Transverse regulations
In France, there are no laws or regulations in force specifically governing connected speakers and associated voice assistants. So, as in other areas of digital technology, voice assistants and connected speakers are governed by cross-functional legal rules.
Initially, the French Data Protection Act of January *, **** provided the legal framework for personal ...
5.2 Regulations set to evolve
In the near future, voice assistants could be governed by:
ePrivacy Regulation, a European Union project aimed at strengthening citizens' online privacy by "governing all electronic communications on publicly available services and networks originating from individuals within the European Union"[***]. The regulation is due to come into force in ****. the draft ...
6 Positioning the players
6. Segmentation
- Microsoft Espagne
- Alibaba
- Xiaomi
- JBL (Groupe Harman, Samsung Electronics)
- Bose
- Belkin
- Marshall
- Apple
- Soundboks
- Harman Kardon
- MacWay
- KEF
- La Boite Concept
- Sonos
- Ultimate Ears (Logitech)
- L-Acoustics
List of charts presented in this market study
- worldwide "park" of connected speakers
- Size of the global smart speaker market
- "Park" of connected speakers
- Volume of smart speakers sold
- Trend in the penetration rate of connected speakers
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Latest news
Xiaomi prepares its grand entrance into the automotive world - 22/11/2023
- Xiaomi will launch its first electric vehicle model early next year.
- The vehicle will be a five-seater sedan.
- The car, dubbed "SU7", will be powered by batteries from CATL or BYD. Xiaomi has partnered with several manufacturers, including BAIC.
- The vehicle could be manufactured in a new Xiaomi factory on the outskirts of Beijing, which would have an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 units.
- Huawei, seeking to diversify its activities, has also entered the automotive sector.
Bard, Google's answer to ChatGPT - 18/07/2023
- Google's chatbot Bard is now available in Europe and Brazil.
- The service is now available in over 40 languages, including French, Arabic and German.
- The service has been launched in 180 other countries (only in English, Japanese or Korean).
- Bard is based on the analysis of billions of online texts and up-to-date news data, unlike its competitor ChatGPT, whose data ends in 2021.
Virtual reality headsets, new Macs - 05/06/2023
- Apple plans to unveil its first virtual and augmented reality headset.
- The headset is expected to cost $3,000
- Apple expects to sell around 900,000 units in the first year
- Several Mac and iPhone applications will be integrated into the headset, such as Camera, Contacts, FaceTime, Email and Messages, Maps, Notes, Music, Photos, Safari and Weather.
Xiaomi: 18.9% drop in sales - 24/05/2023
- Telephony market decline in China in Q1 2023: 11% (according to Canalys)
Xiaomi lays off 10% of its workforce - 20/12/2022
- The world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer is laying off 10% of its 35,000-strong workforce
- only Chinese employees affected
- 14% of the global smartphone market
- number two in France and number three in Germany
- It has also had to temporarily close many of its 10,000 stores due to the Covid-19 epidemic in China
Audio: Bose's plan for survival - 13/09/2022
- Nearly 300 people laid off in Boston following discontinuation of hearing aid development.
- Sales down from $4 billion in 2019 to $3 billion expected this year.
- In 2020, the company had 250 boutiques around the world; today, only a handful remain in Asia.
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the connected speaker market | France
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