Voice Commerce: Tapping into the Potential of Voice-Activated Shopping

Voice assistants, like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, have made shopping more personalized for customers.

While Voice commerce is still relatively new, voice search has existed for quite some time. According to recent studies, 50 percent of Americans use voice search tools daily, and 34 percent use them at least once weekly. Given the growing popularity of voice commerce, businesses need to understand and leverage its potential.

The Rise of Voice Commerce: A New Era of Shopping

Statista reported that in 2021, more than 45 million US customers are using voice technology, and voice commerce transactions worldwide are expected to exceed $5 billion. These numbers continue to increase every day.

Voice assistants are widely used and have a proven track record, so it makes sense that these companies continue to hone their voice search technology to drive online purchases and improve the profitability of their products.

Adapting voice technology can positively impact your e-commerce business by making it easier for your customers to browse your online store. In addition, customers can browse the catalog, submit inquiries, write product reviews, verify product ratings, inventory, stock colors, and prices, and place orders. 

Voice search optimization improves the user experience by allowing users to gather information without wasting time on the internet or focusing all their attention on their smartphones or tablets. Simply put, voice commerce enables businesses and online retailers to offer a seamless, hands-free shopping experience. 

Convenient Hands-Free Shopping: The Benefits of Voice Commerce

Through the use of voice assistants, voice commerce is having a major impact on the way consumers shop. Approximately 60% of American online consumers use smart home voice assistants for daily/weekly shopping. Let's see how voice commerce improves voice search inquiries.

• Increased brand awareness: When customers choose a brand to purchase, they want to feel connected to the company and use its products and services regularly. Additionally, voice search capabilities can help businesses identify consumer patterns and behaviors. Once patterns are identified, voice assistants quickly help customers make appropriate recommendations, ensuring they don't miss anything important and a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience. 
• Create a personalized buying experience: McKinsey reports that 71% of consumers want a customized buying experience, and 76% would rather receive a generic one. Voice commerce allows online shoppers a unique experience that matches their needs completely. These voice assistants can be a valuable source of information about individual users' purchase habits. Online retailers can leverage this data to provide a level of customization that makes shopping more efficient and pleasurable.

• Enhances customer experience: By utilizing solutions like digital payment systems and mobile wallets, voice commerce offers financial data protection to customers. Thanks to these facilitators and encrypted payment processors, customers can purchase with confidence and peace of mind from an online store they may not have previously been familiar with. Moreover, voice assistants make it easier for customers to find new products and evaluate products from various brands, which increases their pleasure with their purchase.
• Increases convenience: Voice commerce eliminates the need for users to go through websites or mobile apps to place orders and make purchases. Shopping is easier and more enjoyable with an experience that fits busy schedules.

As voice technology becomes more widely used by consumers and voice shopping becomes more popular, more brands are trying to ensure that these consumers can browse their product range. Early movers have an advantage that can put them ahead of the competition to win trophies for their strategy. 

Voice Commerce represents a fundamental change in how we interact with online retailers. So, businesses in the fiercely competitive e-commerce market can profit by staying ahead of the curve and adjusting to this new era of shopping. 

The Future of Voice Commerce: Opportunities and Challenges

Even though voice commerce has a ton of potential, there are drawbacks, like accuracy issues with voice recognition, security risks, and privacy concerns. Establishing trust and developing lasting ties with voice commerce users will require balancing convenience and protecting confidential customer information.

Voice commerce is still the new kid in the e-commerce industry. However, the total market value of voice-activated shopping was estimated to increase from approximately $5 billion in 2021 to an astounding $19.4 billion in 2023. This is a growth of over 400 percent in just two years.

Now, how can you make use of voice commerce's potential? Start by ensuring that your online business integrates seamlessly with well-known smart speakers and optimizing it for voice search. 

Regardless of your company's size or position, you should keep up with the latest developments in voice commerce to ensure you can implement them first.

Mike Szczesny is the owner and vice president of EDCO Awards & Specialties, a dedicated supplier of employee recognition products, branded merchandise, and trophies. Szczesny takes pride in EDCO's ability to help companies go the extra mile in expressing gratitude and appreciation to their employees. He resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.