How Voice-Enabled Shopping Is Giving Retail Its Biggest Boost to Date

Chris Sheehan, VP Strategic Accounts, Applause, talks about how until very recently, using your voice to shop via smart devices would have seemed like something out of fantasyland. But thanks to continuous technology advancements, not only is it a real option, but its potential for growth is among the biggest the retail industry has ever seen!

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In the not so distant past, using your voice to shop via technologies like your mobile device or Amazon Echo would’ve seemed like something straight out of fantasy land. But thanks to continuous advancements being made in the world of voice, not only is this a real, usable option, its potential for growth is among the biggest the retail industry has ever seen. In fact, according to a December 2018 report from Coresight Research, the voice shopping retail market is expected to grow 78 percent in the U.S. by 2022. That’s virtually right around the corner.

Retailers are right to be optimistic about the power of voice. According to a Walker Sands’ report, 50 percent of consumers who own a voice device have used it to make a purchase in the past year. However, shoppers aren’t buying all products via voice. The report consumers are hesitant to buy luxury goods, groceries, and furniture using their voice. These are segments that traditionally have to pass the “eye test,” meaning shoppers like to view these items before they buy them to provide peace of mind about their purchase. The high ranking of luxury goods and furniture may also be an indicator of shoppers’ trust of voice payment security. A 2018 comScore survey backs these theories up. According to the survey, 52 percent of respondents who own a smart speaker but haven’t made a purchase are concerned about providing payment information, and 44 percent of the same group haven’t made a purchase because they cannot view product deals.

Also Read: Why Brands Need to Focus on Digital Experiences

Shoppers may soon be changing their tune, however, as multimodal devices like Amazon’s Echo Show present products with both an auditory and screen interface, helping prospective buyers see what a product actually looks like. Adding this interactive capability will help retailers sell higher-value items via voice and get rid of consumer concerns about not being able to view items before making a purchase. To build these multimodal experiences, retailers must correctly balance the visual and voice encounters that their customers expect. Retailers also need to figure out which parts of a shopping experience users are comfortable with completing using voice-only, and which ones they want to add a visual element to.

Those new to voice shopping may also experience some confusion overpayments, but much of those concerns will naturally dissipate as users become comfortable with voice technology. This is similar to when people were beginning to make purchases via their mobile phones just a few years ago. Remember when that was a scary thing? Now you wouldn’t hesitate to buy more dog food on Amazon while watching your best friend make the rounds at the dog park. With that in mind, the onus is still on retailers to offer payment experiences shoppers are used to with mobile apps and e-commerce sites. And retailers must ensure there are no glitches in their voice purchasing processes – like a functional issue or clunky user experience. If this happens, shoppers may be permanently turned off of voice purchasing altogether.

Uncertainty about payment security and the inability to see a product first before purchasing can certainly be barriers to voice commerce. But the key to capitalizing on voice is greater than the voice apps and devices themselves. It comes down to building a strong omnichannel strategy.

Retail companies often fall into the trap of thinking in siloed channels, but that’s not how consumers think. A strong digital presence – or even a great store presentation – is no longer enough to succeed. Shoppers expect stores, websites, mobile apps, and voice experiences to have a consistent look and feel. They want the same shopping experience no matter how, where, and when they interact with a retailer. To be successful with voice, brands need to incorporate it into their overall omnichannel strategy and make it easy for shoppers to jump between channels to continue browsing or buying.

Also Read: Will Voice Transform Customer Experience Trends in 2018?

Part of building successful omnichannel journeys is adding personalized features, recommendations, and offers. According to Accenture, 91 percent of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that recognize and remember them, which then enables brands to offer relevant recommendations and offers. And personalization is something that is extremely high on shoppers’ lists. In the same report, Accenture found more than 80 percent of consumers are willing to share data to enable a personalized experience. Voice presents a unique opportunity for retailers to provide personalized offers and recommendations by using past purchase history to suggest items that may be valuable. By using very targeted tags, retailers can also come to the top of search results when potential customers are browsing for an item. If the omnichannel strategy is executed correctly, retailers will be in a position to easily offer these personalized recommendations based on the shopper’s whole purchase history – regardless of what channel was used to make the purchase.

Perhaps the biggest issue facing retailers is invalidating voice experiences to ensure shoppers can find apps and open them successfully. Voicebot.ai reported that 62 percent of Alexa skills have no rating, indicating a high likelihood that many go completely unnoticed and unused. Building a voice plan that accounts for how different people search for products is essential. While one shopper might ask “Where can I find winter boots for under $40?,” another might say “Tell me where to find affordable winter boots.” In order rank high on the long list of search results, retailers have to prepare answers for all possible word combinations that a shopper might use to browse for items.

Even with some fits and starts along the way, voice is clearly the next wave in retail. Already, more than 47 million people in the US have access to a smart speaker, notes the same Voicebot.ai report. And that number is only going to grow. The key for retailers will be to ensure experiences are consistent, intuitive, and enjoyable for shoppers. With voice commerce expected to surge to $40 billion by 2022, according to a study by OC&C; Strategy and Consulting, voice is a purchase channel on which retailers cannot afford to miss out.