Voice search adoption has grown significantly in the past few years, and this growth is poised to continue through 2021. More and more consumers are using voice to perform search engine queries, find local businesses, make purchase decisions, and more. And when consumers search for local businesses with their voices, they usually engage with those businesses in the same way—by calling. Below, we’ve compiled the top statistics digital marketers need to know to succeed in a voice-first world.
1. Global smart speaker sales reached an all-time high of 150 million units in 2020. Despite the pandemic, there was a huge surge in demand for smart speakers last year — especially during the holiday season in Q4 (Source: Business Wire).
2. By 2024, global smart speaker sales will surpass $30 billion. Smart speakers will soon be among the top-selling consumer electronic products (Source: Global Market Insights)
3. 55% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices by 2022. That’s a 42% jump from today’s household ownership numbers (Source: OC&C Strategy Consultants).
4. 34% of people who do not own a voice assistant are interested in purchasing one. Late adopters are poised to grow the smart speaker market (Source: Global Web Index).
5. 65% of 25-49-year-olds speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once per day. The 25-49 year old demographic is the most likely to perform daily voice searches, followed closely by 18-24-year-olds, and 50+-year olds, respectively. Though 25-49-year-olds are the most active voice searchers, the 18-24 demographic is credited with helping to drive early adoption of the technology (Source: PwC).
6. 61% of 25-64-year-olds say they’ll use their voice devices more in the future. The 18-24 demographic mirrors this trend, with 57% saying they’ll increase their voice device usage in the coming years (Source: PwC).
7. 71% of wearable device owners predict they’ll perform more voice searches in the future. Though wearable users are the most optimistic, tablet and speaker users are not far behind (Source: PwC).
8. 52% of people keep their voice-activated speakers in their living rooms. 25% keep them in their bedrooms, while 22% keep them in their kitchens (Source: Google).
9. 93% of consumers are satisfied with their voice assistants. The top benefits consumers cite for using voice speakers are the ability to multitask, get instant answers to questions, and make their lives easier (PwC).
10. 65% of people who own an Amazon Echo or Google Home can’t imagine going back to the days before they had a smart speaker. For many people, smart speakers are not just devices, but part of a lifestyle (Source: GeoMarketing).
11. In 2020, 30% of web browsing sessions were screenless. This created a shift in how consumers interact with brands online (Source: Gartner).
12. Nearly 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by a set of 25 keywords. These consist mainly of question words like “how” or “what” and adjectives like “best” or “easy” (Source: seoClarity).
13. Voice is expected to be a $40 billion channel by 2022. Today, voice shopping accounts for around $2 billion in consumer spending. In order to take advantage of this revenue-driving growth opportunity, today’s marketers must understand the voice of their consumer (Source: OC&C Strategy Consultants).
14. Up to 43% of voice-enabled device owners use their device to shop. Consumers across age groups are using their devices to assist with making purchases—a 41% increase in 2018 alone (Source: Narvar).
15. 51% of those who shop via voice use it to research products. 22% of those consumers make purchases directly through voice and 17% have used it to reorder items (Source: Narvar).
16. 11.5% of smart speaker owners make purchases by voice monthly. This equals nearly 5.5 million US adults making purchases via their smart speaker on a regular basis (Source: Voicebot).
17. 52% of smart speaker owners are interested in receiving info about deals, sales, and promotions from brands. Consumers are open to building relationships with brands via voice channels (Source: Google).
18. 76% of smart speaker users perform local voice searches at least weekly. 46% of users perform voice searches to look for information on local businesses on a daily basis (Source: BrightLocal).
19. 58% of consumers use voice search to find local business information. Voice searches are often used to research and locate local businesses because of their convenience for on-the-go customers (Source: Search Engine Journal).
20. 51% of consumers use voice search to research restaurants. This is the most commonly voice-searched business, though consumers research a broad range of businesses on their voice devices, from hotels to doctors to insurance companies (Source: BrightLocal).
21. 28% of consumers go on to call the business they voice searched for. This is the most common action following a voice search, since it allows consumers to continue interacting with brands via their voices (Source: BrightLocal).
22. Calls will influence over $1 trillion in US consumer spending this year. In our mobile-first world, calls are often the most convenient way for customers to convert (Source: BIA/Kelsey).
23. Phone calls convert to 10-15x more revenue than web leads. Calls are one of the most valuable conversions marketers can drive from voice searches. By tracking the calls driven by voice searches, you can measure your full ROI and optimize accordingly (Source: BIA/Kelsey).
24. Callers convert 30% faster than web leads. Calls provide a more immediate return on your marketing investment (Source: Forrester).
25. Caller retention rate is 28% higher than web lead retention rate. Driving calls from voice searches is also profitable in the long-term — callers are more loyal than web leads (Source: Forrester).
26. 84% of marketers report phone calls having higher conversion rates with larger order value (AOV) compared to other forms of engagement. Phone calls are often the most valuable conversions for marketers (Source: Forrester).
27. 41% of organizations report having increased phone conversion rates by 25% or more in the past 12 months. Not only are consumers calling more due to COVID-19 — they’re also calling with higher intent to make a purchase. Both the volume and value of calls are increasing for many businesses due to COVID-19 (Source: Forrester).
28. 85% of marketers believe inbound calls and phone conversations are a key component of their organization’s digital-first strategy. Marketers plan to tap into phone call data to better understand their customers and inform their voice search strategies (Source: Forrester).
29. 48% of marketers have provided or expect to provide enhanced customer experiences as a result of scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise. With conversation intelligence data, marketers can enhance voice search rankings and experiences based on the content of phone conversations (Source: Forrester).
30. 43% of marketers have improved or expect to improve customer acquisition and retention as a result of scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise. When you tailor consumer experiences based on the content of their phone conversations, you better meet their needs and earn their loyalty (Source: Forrester).
31. Marketers who have scaled conversation intelligence across the enterprise have seen or expect to see improved analytics efficiency, increased business efficiency, improved employee productivity, and seamless integration with existing systems. Conversation intelligence allows marketers to get smarter insights into their consumers and make more informed decisions to drive efficiency (Source: Forrester).
32. 72% of consumers say they only engage with marketing messages that are customized to their specific interests. Marketers who take into account their consumers’ past brand experiences — online and over the phone — have more success (Source: SmarterHQ).
33. 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. If you fail to provide seamless experiences that make your customers feel valued and known, they’ll likely take their business elsewhere (Source: Salesforce)
34. 83% of consumers say they require a positive experience to remain loyal to a brand — regardless of the channel they’re engaging on. Marketers will lose out on lifetime revenue if they fail to provide seamless call experiences (Source: Glassbox Digital)
So, How Can You Drive More Calls and Customers from Voice Search?
Want to learn more about how marketers are using the power of voice in their strategies? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Conversation Intelligence for Marketers.
