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| Amazon is trying to get customers to use Echo devices |
Since 2015, Amazon has been selling a slew of Alexa-controlled smart speakers every public holiday.
At about that time, it was difficult for these machines to attract the attention of customers. According to internal data, 15-25% of new Alexa users are no longer active within the second week after purchasing the device.
Concerns about user engagement and user interaction often appear in internal planning documents from 2018-2021.
These documents describe Amazon's ongoing ambitions for Alexa, including plans to add more cameras and sensors to allow the device to detect different sounds or identify the room a user is in each time they visit.
It also clarifies what the company sees as obstacles to achieving these goals. And Amazon's internal analysis of the smart speaker market last year found that it lost growth. It is estimated that it could grow at a rate of 1.2% per year over the next few years.
The Alexa market is not just for smart speakers. Amazon denies many of the metrics mentioned in the document, claiming that they are either outdated or inaccurate.
In an email statement, a spokesperson said the company remains optimistic about Alexa.
He wrote, “It would be wrong to say that Alexa is growing slowly. The point is that Alexa continues to grow. We are seeing increased customer use and Alexa is being used in more homes around the world than ever before.”
Amazon sees privacy as one of the biggest hurdles, and the other hurdle is that people think Alexa is useless.
Alexa's first device, the Echo Battery Speaker, was a huge success. Facebook, Google, Apple, and other companies have released their own versions.
Amazon's interest in Alexa wanes
Analysts made enthusiastic predictions about voice control. This brought computing closer to the transition from desktop computers to mobile devices.
The goal of Amazon's collaboration with Alexa is to inspire users to develop a deeper relationship with the company's departments so that they can benefit in different ways.
Last year Amazon found that 25% of American households have at least one Alexa device, and that number has risen to 27% for Amazon Prime customers.
For most users, there are only three main use cases: playing music, setting timers, and controlling lights.
In a 2019 document, company employees noted that new Alexa users discovered half of the features they were using within three hours of activating the device.
Amazon employs more than 10,000 people who work for Alexa. The document expects fixed costs to reach $4.2 billion in 2021.
Amazon predicted in 2018 that any device could lose $5 in 2021. It hopes to increase it to $2 per unit by 2028.
The company is focusing on new ways for users to interact with Alexa, such as home devices with displays, Alexa-enabled headphones, and in-car apps.
The company continues to customize the way Alexa interacts with customers. The 2019 document states that despite his efforts to add functionality to Alexa. However, the overall user interaction did not increase.
Amazon is also using Alexa itself to enable consumers to use the system in a new way. In recent years, these devices have introduced new demands and users can send these requests while doing whatever work they want.
It is difficult for customers to disable this feature. This frustration can explain why some people unplug their speakers and throw them in the closet.