Why Should Retailers Invest in Digital Voice Assistants?

Why Should Retailers Invest in Digital Voice Assistants?

65% OF OWNERS SAY THEY CAN’T GO BACK TO LIFE WITHOUT A SMART SPEAKER Issue: January 2018

Pretty soon, swiping, pinching and zooming will be a thing of the past! Tired eyes, poor ergonomics and chronic neck pain have all been associated to our attachment to our smartphones.

As we move into an era of frictionless, voice activated digital assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod, Microsoft Cortana and Alibaba’s AliGenie, voice will be a dominate retail disruptor and a preferred user interface for all consumers.

Right now, it’s a battle between commerce and search players (Amazon versus Google).

These devices are battling for your home – the super computers that Star Trek had foreshadowed is now in 20% of households in the U.S. Juniper Research forecasts by 2022, 55% of U.S. households will have a digital voice assistant installed in their homes.

WHY IS VOICE SUCH A STRONG PLATFORM? It’s easy to use and it literally has no learning curve!

Instead of visual interactions, it’s all auditory. For instance, with the Baby Boomer generation, they’ve had an easier time adopting to a voice assistant then to smartphones.

Outside of adoption rate, smart home speakers are very sticky. They’ve become an extension of your family – someone who you interact with daily.

Owners of smart speakers use it between 6 to 10 times a day for entertainment, playing music, audio books, news and even shopping!

When it comes to voice shopping, the volume of transactions and average cart value are nothing to laugh at!

Based on a report conducted by NPR & Edison Research in September 2017:

AVERAGE ORDER VALUE VOICE SHOPPING • 30% of shoppers spent between $50 - $99 • 24% spent between $25 - $49 • 24% spent between $100 - $199 • 11% spent over $200+ • Only 9% spent less than $24 • 2% were unsure of how much they spent

HARDWARE IS THE ENABLER FOR CHANGE It’s not really about the hardware. The hardware is the enabler to get us to change our behaviours.

Previously, the only way we could communicate with devices was through a keyboard.

For those that wereuse to typing on a computer, the Blackberry phones were a natural transition.

But when the keyboard-less smartphone came to fruition, there were a whole demographic of users that had difficulty navigating with just a screen.

Fast forward and voice is changing the entire technological landscape again – providing a more humanized interaction with our computers.

50%

OF SEARCH WILL BE DONE THROUGH VOICE Based on The Wall Street Journal Tech Talk - Best of CES 2018 the voice operating systems (os), is a platform for service providers to build their apps on. There will be huge growth in voice shopping. Voice search is all based on intent. Converting a customer will become easier for companies that offer on demand services. Comscore predicts that by 2020, 50% of all searches will be done through voice.

Smart home speakers take away the need to bookmark or email ourselves reminders. Simply ask and your tasks are automated. The way we shop for groceries, entertainment, restaurants and overall retail is becoming frictionless and seamless.

Just ask and you will receive – order tickets to the shows you want to see, update your shopping list, book dinner reservations or get your favourite meals delivered to your home just as you’re pulling into your driveway.

VOICE IS A STRATEGIC SELLING CHANNEL FOR RETAILERS Owners of Amazon Alexa or Google Home spend 31% more then they did, prior to using a digital voice device.

Still unsure that voice makes sense for retail?

Walmart has partnered with Google Home and Best Buy with Amazon Alexa for Deal of the Day products.

It’s a platform that is undeniable – with huge user adoption across several age groups, high satisfaction ratings amongst users (65% said they can’t go back to a life without a smart speaker) and real stickiness (using it multiple times a day).

Gartner believes that worldwide spending on these devices will top $3.5 billion by 2021. What's you're voice shopping strategy? Are you ready to tap into the retail voice market?

TheAppLabb is a product innovation and development firm. Our goal to improve human experiences through the use of innovative technologies and drive business results for our clients.

Over 11 years of experience with 360+ global clients and over 500+ apps built, we offer strategic consulting, UX and UI design, custom software development and out-of-the-box industry solutions for several vertical markets.

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Version: January 2018 - TheAppLabb ©

References:

CES 2018 Trends to Watch - 20% of the Households in the U.S.

http://live.ces.tech/detail/videos/best-of/video/5705728743001/ces-2018-trends-to-watch?autoStart=true

Jupiter Research - By 2022...

https://www.juniperresearch.com/researchstore/innovation-disruption/digital-voice-assistants/platforms-revenues-opportunities

Inc. - 55% of U.S. Households

https://www.inc.com/bill-carmody/the-3-barriers-to-voice-commerce-this-holiday-season.html

Media Post - Baby Boomer Generation...

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/297907/boomers-embrace-the-amazon-echo-and-the-internet.html

AdvertisingWeek - 6 to 10 times

http://newyork.advertisingweek.com/replay/-npr-workshop-2017-09-28-1130

Search Engine Land - Average Order Value Voice Shopping

https://searchengineland.com/report-57-smart-speaker-owners-bought-something-voice-283279

The Wall Street Journal Tech Talk - Best of of CES 2018: The Official WSJ Recap

http://www.wsj.com/podcasts/best-of-ces-2018-the-official-wsj-recap/D2EB5251-B5C4-4C7B-A284-1E13F96B89FD.html

Kissmetrics - Comscore Predicts by 2020, 50%...

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/voice-apps-will-change-ecommerce/

AdvertisingWeek - Owners of Amazon Alexa or Google Home spend 31% more http://newyork.advertisingweek.com/replay/-npr-workshop-2017-09-28-1130

Channel Advisor - Walmart has Partnered with Google Home...

https://www.channeladvisor.com/blog/industry-trends/cyber-5-voice-shopping/

WWD - 65% Say They Can’t Go Back...

http://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/luke-starbuck-think-tank-11040030/

Gartner - ...Top $3.5 Billion by 2021

https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3790964

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