New research has suggested that smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo are set to drive the next wave of FMCG/grocery e-commerce.
A survey of 2,000 British adults, commissioned by AI and data-driven agency Artefact UK, reveals 60% of smart speaker owners have used them to make a purchase in the past year. In fact, nearly 22% said they have done so within the past week.
The research also found that 31% of smart speaker owners have already interacted with brands via their device. The companies that people say they’ve have interacted with are dominated by technology brands (especially Amazon), takeaway delivery services including Domino’s – and notably, supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s.
Sarah De Martin, Managing Director at Artefact UK, said: “Voice offers a simple and spontaneous path to purchase that reflects how people behave naturally. Four out of ten Brits already owns one or more of these devices, so the channel is nearing critical mass. Ocado and Morrisons now have Alexa skills, showing that the sector is starting to grasp the opportunity.
“Both Google and Amazon are offering aggressive discounts on their smart speakers and ownership grew by 79% last year alone. As an e-commerce business, it’s clear why Amazon wants to get Alexa into as many homes as possible. During its recent Prime Day event it even experimented by allowing Prime subscribers to access some of its best offers through Alexa.”
When respondents were asked to identify what they think smart speakers can do, 47% suggested using them for shopping or buying takeaways, 39% said they were ideal for playing games or quizzes and 28% suggested that you could use them for booking travel.
However, 45% of smart speaker owners share a nagging doubt that they aren’t getting the most out of their device. The most common use scenarios are to listen to music, books or podcasts (57%) and almost half (47%) use voice to for basic search, such as weather forecasts or recipes.
De Martin commented: “There seems to be a significant disconnect in how people are using their smart speakers, as compared to what they ‘think’ they should be able to do with them. As the number of households owning smart speakers grows, there’s a significant opportunity for grocery brands and retailers that can rectify this. This lies in both optimising search for voice and through branded skills that play to what people actually want from their devices.
“The NHS made headlines recently when it announced its Alexa skill, which illustrates this point. It also shows that it’s not just the likes of Apple, Amazon and Google that can reach a mass audience through voice. The race is on for an FMCG brand or supermarket to redefine what the technology can and should be. The age of voice has arrived, so don’t get caught with nothing to say.”
