Global smart speaker shipments reached 9.2 million units in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released Thursday.

The numbers from Strategy Analytics show that Amazon’s market share continues to slip as other home hubs hit the market. The analysis estimates that Amazon shipped about 4 million Alexa units, while Google shipped about 2.5 million units, and Apple shipped about 600,000 HomePods.

During the first quarter of 2018, the data shows, Amazon holds about 43.6% market share, down from 81.8% in the year-ago quarter. Google now holds 26.5%, compared with 12.4% in the year-ago quarter; Alibaba, 7.6%; Apple, 6%; Xiaomi, 2.4%; and others, 13.9%

Growth overall in sales rose 278%, compared with the year-ago quarter, according to the data.

David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics, believes that strong growth in the Chinese market for smart speakers — where both Amazon and Google are absent — gives companies like Alibaba and Xiaomi a chance to lead in the domestic Chinese market.

Another area is personalized content. Amazon and Google do a better job of personalizing content compared with Apple, in my opinion.

One of the major attractions of smart speakers is personalized data, according to data from Adlucent that was published earlier in May.

Among those who own a smart home device or speaker, the Adlucent data estimates, 71% have used it to get personalized information or recommendations or to search for or purchase products, with nearly half saying the devices have increased their desire and expectation for personalized content and information.

The Adlucent study also found that 44% of consumers are willing to provide personal information to get content and ads that are relevant to their personal interests and shopping habits.

In addition, their comfort level in sharing has increased across product category preferences, updates on major life events, and email addresses.