People do actually want to use their smart speakers to shop.
Newly published research from Google and Peerless found that 62% of smart speaker owners surveyed said that they were likely to buy something through their speaker in the next month.
That’s good news for both Google and Amazon — which so steeply discounted their intelligent speaker products over the holidays that they each likely lost a few dollars on every unit sold. The solution to that could come through sponsored shopping.
As CNBC reported earlier this week, Amazon has big plans for bringing sponsored products ads to Alexa in 2018, allowing brands to promote their products in shopping searches or recommend them if a user asks their Echo a related question, like the best way to clean up a spill. Google, which currently allows Home users to buy products through its shopping service, Express, obviously has a lot of experience with paid product searches, too.
The survey, which was conducted this fall among 1,642, U.S. monthly active voice-activated speaker owners, also asked what kinds of information people would be willing to get from companies. It found that 52% of people wanted information about deals, sales, and promotions, 48% would like personalized tips, 42% would be open to getting info about upcoming events and activities, 39% would like store locations and hours, and 38% wanted access to customer service.
As more people start shopping through the Google and Amazon speakers now blinking in their kitchens, living rooms, or bedrooms, both companies will be trying to figure out the best way to monetize their new voice-activated format.
Meanwhile, some users see their Echo or Home as more than just a piece of hardware: 41% of people said that communicating with their speaker feels like talking to a friend or another person.
Also included in the survey, here are the top reasons people said that they use their smart speakers:
- It allows me to more easily multi-task.
- It enables me to do things faster than other devices.
- It empowers me to instantly get answers and information.
- It makes my daily routine easier.
Source: Tech CNBC
People do actually want to use their smart speakers to buy things