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

Apple has backed down in its latest developer fight, apologizing to WordPress after it pressured the website-builder to add in-app payments

* Apple has apologized after it tried to force WordPress to add in-app payment options to a free app. * WordPress' founder said on Friday that Apple was refusing to allow any updates to the WordPress iOS app until the website builder added in-app purchases, from which Apple takes a 15-30% commission. * Apple is in a fierce fight with developers including "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and Spotify over its rules on in-app purchases. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple has backed down in its latest skirmish with a developer over its App Store rules. The tech giant on Sunday issued a rare apology to WordPress after it pressured the website builder to add payment options to its free iOS app, or else be blocked from updating. "We believe the issue with the WordPress app has been resolved," an Apple spokesman told The Verge. "Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free st...
Read more

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

What an independent contractor actually is and how it's classified under California's Assembly Bill 5, the gig worker law Uber, Lyft, and others are fighting with a November ballot measure

* California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) went into effect in January, adopting a narrow definition of independent contractor that forces Uber and other gig economy businesses to choose between reclassifying workers as employees or risking significant liability for misclassification. * The law serves as a reminder to California businesses to be careful when classifying workers as contractors.  * Classifying independent contractors falls into two main categories: the "right to control" test (often called the "IRS test") and the tougher "ABC test" recently adopted in AB5. * Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have recently poured $30 million into Proposition 22 — a ballot measure intended to exempt major ridesharing and food delivery companies from AB5. If California residents vote the measure into effect in November, Uber and Lyft can continue classifying drivers as contractors.  * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In September 2019, Californ...
Read more