U.S. mothers choose smart speakers over radios

Edison Research has published the latest installment of its “Moms and Media” study, which highlights device usage and media consumption of mothers in the United States. Now two years into COVID and entering a much-awaited phase of semi-normalcy, the survey reports that connected speakers are increasingly popular with American mothers; radios less so.

According to the study, the average age of mothers in the United States is 40, and half of them own smart speakers. Of those, 67% say they own two smart speakers, with 43% saying they own three or more.

The most reported appeal of connected speakers is their allowing mothers to get things done hands-free. This technology is spilling over into other devices, and mothers are taking advantage of it. This year’s report shows an increase in female users opting for the “hands-free” feature. Specifically, 76% of them report using a voice-activated personal assistant, up from 63% last year.

Of concern is that while mothers may be embracing hands-free technology and adding smart speakers to their home, according to Edison Research, what they are not adding, are actual radios. In fact, 38% of mothers do not have a single radio in their home while 62% report they have at least one. In contrast, 10 years ago, 88% of moms had at least one radio at home and just 12% reported not having one at all.

The latest installment of the annual report combines data from the Infinite Dial series from Edison Research, Wondery and ART19, with recent data from an additional online survey of moms.

You can download the full report here.