According to the tech soothsayers, voice interaction with our technology via artificial-intelligence digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant is the future. Virtually every new smartphone is listening for a voice command, new cars can be spoken to, and smart speakers like the Google Home and Apple's new HomePod have created a ferocious new consumer electronics marketplace.
Of all the smart speakers, though, none sell as well as Amazon's sub-$50 Echo Dot. We know this because after tracking sales ranking data since 2016 at Best Buy for the category, the Echo Dot takes the top-three spots, followed only by the Google Home Mini, Google's similar sub-$50 smart speaker.
|
Name |
Price (Average) |
Category Rank (Min) |
Category Rank (Max) |
Category Rank (Average) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon - Echo Dot (2nd Generation) - Black |
$46.44 |
6 |
229 |
109.90 |
|
Amazon - Echo Dot (2nd Generation) |
$47.20 |
45 |
308 |
160.47 |
|
Amazon - Echo Dot - White |
$47.05 |
32 |
360 |
176.98 |
|
Google - Home Mini - Chalk |
$45.08 |
10 |
781 |
194.32 |
|
Google - Home - White/Slate fabric |
$119.48 |
20 |
733 |
250.28 |
|
Google - Home Mini - Charcoal |
$45.08 |
12 |
3000 |
308.48 |
|
Google - Google Home - White/Slate fabric |
$127.23 |
5 |
3503 |
348.21 |
|
Amazon - Echo Dot (2nd Generation) - White |
$46.32 |
16 |
698 |
366.39 |
|
Amazon - Echo (2nd generation) - Charcoal Fabric |
$94.79 |
29 |
13466 |
1304.32 |
|
Amazon - Echo Dot |
$49.18 |
5 |
20355 |
1403.38 |
|
Amazon - Echo Show - Black |
$220.88 |
133 |
9116 |
1954.29 |
|
Amazon - Echo (2nd generation) - Heather Gray Fabric |
$94.79 |
168 |
16656 |
2392.93 |
|
Apple - HomePod - Space Gray |
$349.79 |
73 |
68394 |
2655.11 |
|
Amazon - Echo (2nd generation) - Sandstone Fabric |
$94.79 |
146 |
18975 |
2878.52 |
|
Amazon - Echo Show - White |
$220.10 |
401 |
10203 |
3398.38 |
|
Apple - HomePod - White |
$349.79 |
189 |
68304 |
3680.43 |
|
Amazon - Echo Spot - Black |
$127.88 |
529 |
16273 |
4774.83 |
|
Google - Home Max - Charcoal |
$399.00 |
2684 |
21195 |
5701.94 |
|
Google - Home Max - Chalk |
$399.00 |
4102 |
29562 |
9296.03 |
Sales rank data for smart speakers from Best Buy is salient here because it is the only major consumer electronics retailer that sells smartspeakers from Amazon, Google, and Apple. In fact, if you search for a Google Home at Amazon.com, you're greeted with the option to buy a Echo Dot. Meanwhile, try buying an Echo Dot at the Google store or a Google Home at the Apple Store (neither of those things are possible, in case you were about to check).
You can buy all three at other retailers, including Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond, but none sell as many of these products as does Best Buy, nor have they been selling them as long (since 2016). As someone walks into a Best Buy or peruses bestbuy.com, he or she is presented with all options and, as the data shows, they're choosing the Echo Dot.
Apple's HomePod only shows up in the 17th spot out of 20 (to be fair, it's only been for sale for less than a year), and sales of that device have been less than spectacular. Of course, the HomePod sells for $350 while the hugely popular Echo Dot goes for a thrifty $46 on average, making it attractive to those looking to just get into the smart speaker game.
There are healthy rumors that Apple is planning a less-expensive iteration of the HomePod to get a piece of those sales, but it will need to do so once Siri is a bit smarter.