Over the past couple of years, voice shopping has exploded in popularity. As consumers grow more comfortable speaking to their smart speakers and smartphone assistants, many are realising the benefits of ordering goods and services from their devices, without even having to look at a screen. Voice shopping is a non-visual experience, meaning customers have to select their products by providing a verbal description of what they’re looking for, and whilst it’s not an experience for everyone, the trend should not be overlooked by retailers.
According to OC&C Strategy Consultants, 13% of smart speaker owners were making purchases back in 2017, and that figure will climb to an impressive 55% by 2022, which demonstrates the need to take voice shopping seriously. Below, we’ve rounded up some eye-opening voice shopping statistics that should give you some food for thought…
As we’ve just touched upon, voice shopping isn’t for everyone and is only relevant in some use cases, such as restocking existing supplies or pre-ordering a product that users have already read about and researched online. However, according to Internet Retailing, more than half of consumers say they’re interested in checking out via voice, so setting up your eCommerce store with voice features and chatbots could unlock new sales avenues.
If you want to get ahead of the competition, you’ll need to embrace new technologies like voice shopping before others do. More than a quarter of eCommerce brands now offer voice purchases, so it’s time to do the same and give customers what they want.
Although the ultimate aim of optimising your eCommerce business for voice search is to drive more sales, it’s also worth noting that almost a third of searches are now done with a device without a screen. Updating product descriptions to better describe products for those using a smart speaker or assistant could be the key to your company’s growth.
Shopping using a smart speaker is no longer just a fad – it’s a multibillion-dollar business. According to data from Prnewswire.com, $40 billion will be spent worldwide via voice per year by 2022, and with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing consumers to embrace new tech at breakneck speeds, those figures could be trumped before the year is through. Sure, it’s still a small segment of the overall eCommerce market ($3.5 trillion) but it’s still very significant. A separate report from OC&C Strategy Consultants revealed voice shopping will be worth £3.5 billion to the UK economy by 2022; in 2020, £141.33 billion was spent via eCommerce.
Research from search engine Bing revealed that searching for products using your voice is almost four times faster than typing. Despite internet and device use climbing to all-time highs, some argue that keyboards will become obsolete in the coming decades as devices become more attuned to what we want. Voice is an early form of this artificial intelligence.
According to one report, a fifth of all UK households have at least one smart speaker installed in their homes, and as the technology becomes more affordable and accessible, it’s likely that figure will climb. Add in smart home technologies such as plugs, light bulbs, and CCTV cameras, and consumers are embracing voice activation features more than ever before.
Finding new ways to reach existing customers is always a challenge, and that’s why an omnichannel marketing approach works best. If you still advertise on the radio or in podcasts, you’ll be pleased to know that 52% of those who use voice search do so in their cars; offering voice shopping could allow your customers to buy when they’re driving to work.
If you’re looking to reach young, affluent customers with high levels of disposable income, voice shopping is for you. PwC says that those in the 25-49 age bracket are most likely to use smart speakers, though adoption is rising quickly in other target demographics, as well.
Finally, it’s interesting to note that almost a quarter of consumers who shopped with a brand via voice went on to spend more money with them. Voice shopping adds a new dimension to the shopping experience and fosters a deeper relationship between customers and brands.
Want to introduce voice commerce? Get in touch with the team at Zudu on 01382 690080 and check back soon for more eCommerce statistics on the blog.
