MILTON KEYNES, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global smart speaker market reached a new high in 2019 with sales of 146.9 million units, an increase of 70% on 2018, according to new research from Strategy Analytics. Amazon remained the leading brand with a share of 26.2%, down from 33.7% 2018. Google retained second place with a 20.3% share, also down from 25.9% the previous year. Chinese vendors Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi all increased their shares, while Apple remained in sixth place with 4.7%.

The full report from Strategy Analytics’ Smart Speakers and Screens (SSS) service, Smart Speaker Vendor & OS Shipment and Installed Base Market Share by Region: Q4 2019 can be found here.

Sales in Q4 2019 also achieved a new record of 55.7 million units, the highest ever quarterly sales figure. They were driven by strong holiday sales in the US and Europe, as well as a recovery in Google’s smart speaker business following new product introductions, improved components supply and strong promotional activity. Strategy Analytics expects 2020 to be another record year for smart speaker sales, in spite of the near-term impact of disruption to supply and demand caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19).

David Watkins, Director at Strategy Analytics, commented: “Consumer appetite for smart speakers remained undimmed during the all-important Q4 period as newly launched devices with improved feature sets and audio performance helped drive record quarterly shipments. Consumers across the world were once again enticed by scarcely believable deals from leading brands such as Google, Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba, while Google in particular stepped up its giveaway promotional activity in partnership with brands such as YouTube and Spotify.”

David Mercer, Vice President at Strategy Analytics, added, “In 2019 Amazon and Google retained their strong leadership positions in North America and Europe, where they accounted for more than three quarters of all smart speaker sales. However, their shares fell slightly in both regions, confirming our user research findings that buyers are prepared to invest in other brands. Competing vendors must focus resources on specific smart speaker customer segments and use cases in order to maximize revenues and profitability.”

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success. www.StrategyAnalytics.com