How Amazon can turn around its failing Alexa business in 4 steps

Amazon's strategy of setting low prices for Echo speakers and other smart devices, hoping to generate income elsewhere within the tech giant, hasn't paid off. Despite Alexa being in millions of households, it hasn't contributed meaningfully to the bottom line; the company has lost tens of billions of dollars in its devices business since 2017, according to internal documents obtained by and recently reported in the Wall Street Journal. 

With increasing competition and evolving market dynamics, it's time for Amazon to rethink its approach.

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The smart home and AI markets are rapidly evolving, with tech giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft integrating advanced AI capabilities into their ecosystems. According to Statista, global smart home revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 10.67%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$231.6bn by 2028.

The company's previous approaches haven't worked. So, how can the company innovate and differentiate Alexa to remain competitive and capture a significant share of this growing market? 

1. Shift from Amazon-branded hardware to partner-enabled hardware

Amazon needs to stop making its own Echo and Alexa hardware. Instead, it should exclusively partner with companies such as Samsung, LG, Hisense, Sony, TCL, Haier/GE, and Ikea to pre-install Alexa in their smart TVs, refrigerators, household devices, and smart furniture. These brands already have a strong market presence, and integrating Alexa would add value to their products. For example, integrating Alexa into Samsung's SmartThings platform would enhance the smart home experience by providing seamless voice control over various connected devices.

Also: The best smart home devices of 2024: Expert tested and reviewed

Offering financial incentives or reduced licensing fees for manufacturers willing to adopt Alexa, similar to how Google subsidizes its OEMs' Chrome OS devices, can encourage further adoption. Joint marketing campaigns could also help Amazon and its partners reach a wider audience, driving mutual growth. Amazon could offer co-branded marketing campaigns with LG to promote Alexa-enabled appliances, highlighting the convenience and advanced features.

Developing a certification program for Alexa-compatible devices would ensure quality and compatibility across different brands. This certification program would be similar to the "Works with Alexa" certification but more rigorous and comprehensive, ensuring a seamless user experience. Establishing clear standards and guidelines for device manufacturers would enhance interoperability and reduce consumer frustration.

2. Enhance and improve the reliability of home automation capabilities and provide a better developer experience 

To position Alexa as the central hub for home automation, it needs seamless and reliable integration with various devices such as lights, thermostats, security systems, and appliances -- a promise made by the company since Alexa's introduction but hasn't been kept. 

Also: 5 ways to make your Echo Show less annoying

Amazon has many partnerships with home automation companies and is a member of the Matter consortium, which aims to standardize and improve device interoperability. However, the biggest issue lies in these companies maintaining their skills integration with Alexa. Many skill authors have not kept their integrations well-maintained, leading to skill rot and connectivity problems.

To address this, Amazon must ensure that skills are consistently updated and maintained. This can be achieved by:

Providing better tenancies on AWS for these skills can help ensure reliable performance and seamless integration. By leveraging Amazon's LLMs in AWS and with guaranteed cloud resources, skills can be more robust and capable of handling complex interactions, reducing downtime, and improving user satisfaction.

Offering ongoing support and quality assurance for skill developers will be crucial. This includes regular check-ins, updates, and troubleshooting assistance to ensure that skills remain functional and effective.

Developer incentives that include grants, hackathons, and other "carrots" to encourage developers to create and maintain innovative Alexa skills are crucial. Launching a developer portal with extensive documentation, tutorials, and support would decrease the barrier to entry for new developers, similar to Apple's approach with the App Store. By nurturing a vibrant developer community, Amazon can consistently enhance Alexa's capabilities and keep users engaged with new and exciting features.

Providing improved skill management tools for developers, including monitoring performance, user feedback, and analytics, can help them maintain high-quality integrations. These tools can offer insights into how skills are used and identify areas for improvement. 

Releasing open-source tools and APIs for AI similar to Google's TensorFlow would enable developers to create custom Alexa integrations. This would spur innovation, build a broader developer community, and increase the number of Alexa-compatible devices and applications. Open-source APIs would empower third-party developers to craft unique Alexa skills, expanding the ecosystem and boosting user engagement.

Amazon's purchase of Ring and its integration with Alexa demonstrates the potential for creating a seamless home automation ecosystem using a single vendor solution. By strengthening partnerships with top home automation companies such as Lutron and GE, and by enhancing its services and offerings in its developer program, Amazon has the potential to establish a comprehensive smart home experience that prioritizes enhanced security, energy efficiency, and convenience.

3. Transition Alexa to an AI service-based model

Incorporating advanced natural language processing would improve Alexa's ability to understand context and nuances, similar to the progress made by OpenAI with GPT-4. Providing personalized suggestions and actions based on user behavior and preferences would enhance the overall user experience. For example, Alexa could suggest recipes based on users' dietary preferences and past cooking habits or recommend workout routines tailored to their fitness goals.

Also: 5 ways Amazon can make an AI-powered Alexa subscription worth the cost

As I've written earlier, Amazon could introduce tiered subscription offerings to generate additional revenue streams. A basic tier could be free, offering limited features, while premium and enterprise tiers could provide advanced AI capabilities and integrations. 

For example, the premium tier could include enhanced natural language processing, proactive assistance, and personalized experiences, while the enterprise tier could offer advanced analytics and integration with business applications. This model has succeeded for companies like Microsoft with Office 365, offering tiered subscriptions that deliver more value than one-time purchases.

4. Expanded partnership or acquisition of Sonos

As I mentioned in my previous article about Sonos and why Apple should compete with it or acquire the company, Amazon could also consider acquiring Sonos to leverage its premium audio technology and strong brand presence in the home audio market. 

Also: How Apple can rescue miserable Sonos users

Short of purchasing the company outright, an expanded partnership could involve co-developing more advanced smart speakers and home audio systems, integrating Alexa's upcoming AI capabilities with Sonos' superior sound quality and multi-room wireless audio and surround sound. This collaboration could help Amazon penetrate markets where Sonos already has a strong presence, further expanding Alexa's reach. 

While some Sonos speakers today have Alexa integration, they lack the full capabilities of Amazon-branded devices, such as full smart hub functionality and features like "drop-in" that Amazon reserves for its own devices. Addressing these limitations through a deeper partnership or acquisition could significantly enhance the value proposition for consumers. By fully integrating Sonos products with Alexa's advanced features, Amazon can offer a seamless and powerful smart home audio experience.

What it means for Amazon

Implementing these strategies could increase Amazon's market share in the smart home and AI sectors, driving significant revenue growth. For instance, transitioning to a service-based model with tiered subscriptions could generate substantial recurring revenue, while partnerships with major brands could expand Alexa's user base. Acquiring Sonos could also boost hardware sales and enhance brand loyalty among premium audio enthusiasts.

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However, transitioning from a tightly controlled hardware ecosystem to a software and service-defined ecosystem presents significant challenges. Unlike Google, which successfully navigated this transition with Android and Chrome OS, Amazon lacks experience in creating a robust, open ecosystem. Google's success with Android lies in its ability to foster a diverse developer community and maintain high standards for device compatibility and user experience across various manufacturers.

For Amazon, ensuring seamless integration with third-party devices and maintaining high standards for user experience will be crucial to shift from a hardware-based to a software and partner-licensed model. The company must establish clear guidelines and support for device manufacturers to ensure compatibility and quality and address privacy concerns by implementing robust data security measures and transparent policies, which will also be needed to build user trust.