Shopping via Alexa? You could be overpaying

People who shop using voiceactivated smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home could be overpaying for goods as the devices make it difficult to shop around for deals.

A report by Worldpay, a payment processing firm, has warned that it is hard for consumers to compare prices when using their voice alone.

Shane Happach of Worldpay said: “Voice interface is most effective when a shopper knows what they want and where to get it and has an established payment method.”

The report also said shoppers were in thrall to “buy now, pay later” schemes that encouraged excessive spending and would soon become reliant on them to fuel their shopping habits.

These services allow customers to spread the payments for an item, but critics have argued that they promote excessive spending, particularly among young people.

It found that the number of retailers to offer buy now, pay later services was increasing by 39pc every year.

Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, almost 6pc of all online spending is via buy now, pay later, according to the report. This is expected to grow to about 9pc by 2023. In Britain, where more than £106bn is spent online each year, such schemes will double their share of internet spending by 2023, the report predicted.

The growth in buy now, pay later is much faster than in other payment methods. Online sales through mobile devices are growing by around 13pc each year and online desktop sales are increasing by 6pc on average.

The increase in spending online and via cards spells bad news for those who prefer to pay in cash. Cash usage is declining by 10pc a year and is expected to account for just 16pc of all offline purchases by 2023.