Alexa and friends make their voices heard

Digital- aided shopping could hit $ 40B by 2022

The retail revolution shifting sales from stores to laptops to smartphones could be on the verge of its next sea change — when shoppers will ask Amazon’s Alexa and other voice- driven speakers to order just about everything.

Purchases made through devices such as Google Home and Amazon’s Echo are projected to leap from $ 2 billion to $ 40 billion by 2022 as technology improves, U. S. consumers become more comfortable and the speakers become nearly as commonplace in homes as a flat- screen TV, according to a new study from OC& C Strategy Consultants.

“We really see this as the next big disruptive play in U. S. retail,’’ says John Franklin, associate partner at OC& C, which surveyed 1,500 smartspeaker owners in December.

The smart- speaker space is one in which many tech giants want to play. Though Amazon and its digital helper, Alexa, have come to define the niche, Google Home and its Google Assistant are second in popularity. Apple began shipping its Siri- assisted HomePod smart speaker in February. Microsoft’s “Cortana” is also part of the mix.

The most popular use of voice-driven speakers is to play music or find out whether to take an umbrella, OC& C says.

But as virtual assistants can turn up a thermostat and even rattle off jokes, voice- driven speakers are at the center of a budding universe of AI-connected devices that include bath- room mirrors, door locks and TV monitors. Smart home product sales are expected to total $ 4.5 billion this year, up 34% from 2017, according to the Consumer Technology Association.

Among the U. S. residents who have a smart speaker, 62% have used it to buy groceries or some other item, according to OC& C’s study. The report predicts that the percentage of U. S. homes with a smart speaker will rise to 55% by 2022.

“That’s clearly a big driver in the overall potential in voice shopping. We then expect household spending with smart speakers will increase also,” Franklin says.

Amazon is still king

Amazon, which first upended the retail environment when it wooed readers away from traditional book- stores, then became the go- to for many online shoppers, dominates the emerging smart speaker space, too.

The Amazon Echo is used in 10% of U. S. households, followed by Google, which is in 4% of homes, and Microsoft’s Cortana, which comes in at 2%.

“Retailers should be taking notice ... because of the way Amazon is pushing this technology and the potential ( it) has ... to access consumers on a regular basis,” Franklin says.

Google is pushing back. As visitors increasingly start their browsing on Amazon, Google has linked with such retailers as Whole Foods, Costco and Walmart, whose items are available through Google Express.

Obstacles remain

There are hurdles that could slow down how quickly shoppers take to voice shopping— and how lucrative those purchases are for retailers.

It can be difficult to compare prices when ordering via speaker, and customers often have to use specific wording such as “OK, Google” when launching their transactions.

Shoppers are more apt to buy cheaper items via voice. The average online basket was $ 661 for online purchases of electronics, compared with $ 239 for voice orders, OC& C said.

Then there’s the matter of trust. Among shoppers who don’t make purchases through a smart speaker, less than half, 45%, say they would trust the device to recommend products.

Among those who do shop via voice, 83% say they have confidence in the virtual assistant’s suggestions — signaling that once consumers try the new way of summoning goods and services, they often like it.