One million, or seven per cent, of Canadian households now own a voice-activated smart speaker such as Amazon Echo or Google Home, according to Vividata’s Winter 2019 Study looking at consumer media habits.

Five per cent of those households bought their smart speaker in the last 12 months, with another 720,000 households indicating they intend to purchase one in the next year. While only two per cent of households currently own a smart home controller/hub, another four per cent (or 544,000) indicated they plan to acquire one in the next 12 months.

Media Highlights

• When it comes to how Canadians are consuming content, 37 per cent of Canadian adults agreed with the statement, “online TV streaming services have changed the way I watch TV.” Nearly 50 per cent of those respondents said because of TV streaming services, they now watch more TV than they used to.

• One in 10 listen to radio/audio content while on public transit, with 52 per cent using a free audio streaming service.

•  74 per cent of Canadian adults read newspaper brand content in the past week, with over half accessing content via a mobile device. One in four newspaper brand readers searched online for a product, brand or service advertised in a newspaper, while one in seven made a purchase.

•  Eight out of 10 read a magazine brand in the past month, and 50 per cent of Canadians accessed magazine brand content via a digital device. One in four magazine brand readers spoke about the product, brand or service advertised in a magazine with others.

•  While platform readership varies by title, for both newspaper and magazine brands at large, print remains the dominant platform for audiences. 42 per cent of newspaper brand audiences are exclusively print readers, while 63 per cent of magazine brand audiences are reading exclusively via print.

Out of Home

•  77 per cent of Canadian adults have noticed any out-of-home ad in the past week. 58 per cent noticed digital out-of-home ads specifically.

•  Those with a household income over $150k+ are more likely to notice digital out-of-home ads than the general population.

Vividata results are based on fieldwork from Oct. 2017 through Sept. 2018. The total sample size is 43,028 Canadians 14+. The Winter 2019 release is a single source database containing cross-platform readership metrics for magazines and newspapers, as well as a comprehensive database of consumer behavior, media usage and product/brand usage data.

Based in Toronto, Vividata is a provider of cross platform audience measurement for publishers. A tripartite, not-for-profit organization, Vividata is governed by a board of directors representing the interests of Canadian publishers, agencies and advertisers.