Skip to main content

Amazon's updates to the Echo's 'Drop In' and 'Reminder' features should boost user engagement

* Business Insider Intelligence and eMarketer are now Insider Intelligence, a digitally-focused research company from Insider Inc. Learn more about what we offer. * This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Connectivity & Tech Briefing subscribers earlier this morning. * To get this story plus others to your inbox each day, hours before they're published on Business Insider, click here. Amazon is evolving its Echo smart speaker lineup into an in-house intercom system by allowing users to set reminders that can be played across all Alexa hardware and enabling Drop In to be used on all Echo devices in the house at once. Drop In allows Alexa users to send messages to other Alexa-enabled devices, but the feature previously only worked with one device at a time. This means Alexa users can broadcast messages to multiple devices within their houses: For example, a user with a device in the kitchen can communicate with family members that dinner is ready via an Alexa-enabled device in a bedroom, living room, and home office.  Amazon's updates to the Drop In and Reminder features are geared toward boosting user engagement with multiple Alexa-enabled devices placed around the home. More than half (53%) of smart speaker owners reported owning more than one device, up from 48% last year, per an April 2020 survey from NPR and Edison Research — and the percentage of respondents who own more than three devices increased 8 percentage points since last year, from 21% to 29%. Given how many US households have multiple smart speakers, we expect the expanded functionality will heighten the value prop of owning multiple Alexa-enabled devices, driving engagement across more use cases.  Ultimately, Amazon's updates can help the company capitalize on heightened smart speaker engagement amid the pandemic — and drive new habits in the process. Consumers are engaging with their smart speakers with greater frequency due to the coronavirus pandemic: Among US adults who own a smart speaker, 34% said they've used the devices more often than usual in the past month, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted from March 31-April 1, 2020. This figure increases among younger generations, with 42% of adults aged 18-29 reporting using the devices more often. The rise in smart speaker usage early on in the pandemic suggests this will be a continuing trend into Q2: Business Insider Intelligence expects 53% of US smart speaker owners will be daily users by the end of June 2020, up from 33% at the end of 2019, per NPR and Edison Research. We're forecasting this jump because local stay-at-home orders, combined with social distancing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have incited a shift in US consumers' needs and behaviors — boosting smart speakers' utility for users in the process. Amazon's move to introduce updates that are designed to heighten engagement throughout the home will help the company better position itself as users become more reliant on their devices during this time, which could lead to users developing habits around these features that outlast the pandemic. Want to read more stories like this one? Here's how to get access: * Business Insider Intelligence analyzes the tech industry and provides in-depth analyst reports, proprietary forecasts, customizable charts, and more. >> Check if your company has BII Enterprise membership access * Sign up for the  Connectivity & Tech Briefing, Business Insider Intelligence's expert email newsletter keeping you up-to-date on the people, technologies, trends, and companies shaping the future of healthcare, delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >> Get Started * Explore related topics in more depth. >> Visit Our Report Store * Current subscribers can log in to read the briefing here. Join the conversation about this story »
https://bit.ly/3dEOAfW

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...
Read more

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...
Read more

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...
Read more