According to Trends.co, in less than four years, three million podcasts have launched on Spotify—which is about 43 times the number of titles on Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ combined.

Why is this important?

While podcasts have been tremendously popular for years, listener growth rates continue to rise. More and more people are tuning in to listen to episodes about topics ranging from breaking news and consumer trends to pop culture and true crime.

According to Insider Intelligence, the number of monthly podcast listeners across 18 major markets grew by 15.5% in 2021.

The U.S. leads the world in podcast listenership across every category with 118 million people in the country being monthly podcast listeners, representing 40% of all internet users.

What makes podcasts so alluring is that they can be enjoyed as people cook, clean, commute, work, exercise and relax.

Why is this generation-defining?

There’s more to the story than just podcasts.

The audio trend is set to define tomorrow in unforeseen ways.

People will, literally and figuratively, speak words into existence.

In fact, the digital touchpoint of the future might be voice-first. Imagine a day when we can order groceries, book vacations, and organize entire days using voice assistants.

According to PwC, 61% of adults already using a voice assistant say they will do so more frequently in the future to complete tasks, which might include making purchases or adding items to a shopping list.

This shift to speech as a quintessential component of everyday life will yield interesting results for consumer behavior.

Companies might soon need to come up with conversation strategies to develop closer relationships with their customers.