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Voice search in eCommerce is all set to transform the future digital commerce landscape. Create a voice search optimization strategy that works!
COVID 19 has accelerated eCommerce growth. Global digital commerce trends indicate that sales are seen doubling up over the past months as compared to a consistent growth rate of 10–20% in recent years. Mind-blowing, right? Pre-pandemic, nobody thought about the high pace of online shopping adoption. According to research reports, even post-pandemic, this shift to ecommerce is most likely to continue. It is predicted that 95% of shopping, by 2040, will happen online. So, for retailers, who are yet to have an online store, these eCommerce stats are a strong indication to have one right away. An eCommerce first strategy is no longer an option for retailers; it’s a must! Retailers are racing towards providing better and personalized digital shopping experiences to their consumers by investing in upgrading their eCommerce capabilities, platforms, and technology.
Further to it, to make online shopping more convenient, voice-enabled searches are becoming immensely popular and are being widely adopted. Usage of virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana is increasing rapidly.
Is voice search in eCommerce the next revolution?
- As per Statista, the global smart speaker market revenue is expected to grow from USD 11.9 billion in 2019 to over USD 35.5 billion, by 2025
- By 2022, 55% of households are expected to own a smart speaker.
- As per Comscore, 50 percent of all online searches will be voice-activated, by 2020
- 60% of people owning a voice assistant have used it to buy something through voice
- Juniper Research forecasts that voice commerce will be over USD 80 billion by 2023
A rise in the adoption of smart speakers by consumers, plus the growing usage in voice-enabled searches, combined with an increasing inclination to use voice assistants for shopping, suggests that voice commerce (voice-based eCommerce) will be the next major disruption for online retail. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing have achieved staggering accuracy levels in displaying user queries, and that has further accelerated voice-based search adoption. This is just the right time for retailers to focus on voice search optimization strategy in their eCommerce business to stay ahead of the curve.
Interesting fact: As per BuzzFeed, Google’s AI learned how to be more conversational by consuming 2,865 romance novels.
So, what is all the chat about?
Voice search technology allows users to perform an internet search by asking a question or query on a smartphone, smart speaker, or a personal computer. Traditionally users type in a query into a search box to fetch answers. With voice technology, the question is asked via voice which is answered by a search engine or a digital assistant. Voice shopping is an experience, requiring products to be selected purely by describing words (speech), which significantly limits the scope of browsing. Relevant outcomes are recommended and prioritized (personalized suggestions) based on past purchase history or cart or user preferences.
How voice is changing the future of online shopping
Surprising fact: Voice recognition is old. In fact, in 1961, IBM engineer William C Dersch created the first-ever voice recognition system, called “Shoebox”.
Devices and services are on your command, literally!
Any query/information that can be searched online with a text input can also be accessed through voice. With the help of your voice (speech), you can order groceries & staples, call a cab, play your favorite playlist, and much more. The possibilities are endless. Will keyboards, like typewriters, be obsolete one fine day? Well, maybe, not entirely.
When users can do pretty much everything by their voice, they are more likely to spend less time on device keyboards.
From how things are shaping currently, voice commerce is all poised to gain more traction. Let’s do some number crunching and examine some facts for voice search in eCommerce.
Voice searches in eCommerce can no longer be considered in their infancy. The numbers make that clear. Voice search technology is rapidly becoming imperative for brands to engage their customers in better ways. According to a recent by Adobe Analytics study, 91% of businesses are already making significant investments in voice, and 94% plan to increase their voice investments in the coming years.
Talking the language — Key recommendations for retailers to get up to speed
As per Adobe study, the top priority for implementing voice search in eCommerce is enabling customers to buy, followed by tracking orders and making repeat purchases. Brands are already focusing and experimenting on leveraging the potential of voice technology to enhance the overall shopping experience and thus create more engaged and loyal customers.
Use Voice Search in eCommerce to
- Personalize shopping experiences by providing recommendations based on individual preferences
- Reduce screen interactions and time taken for checkout
- Collect reviews and feedback. Provide users with the ease and convenience as against the time-consuming task of typing long feedbacks
Did you know? An average person types 30 to 35 words per minute, whereas a voice search can process approx — 100 words per minute.
- Enable smart shopping by combining AI and ML with voice features to provide intelligent recommendations based on user’s shopping behavior and purchasing history
Not №1, but Position Zero!
The key to winning the game with voice search is becoming the hero of the zero position. The position zero also referred to as featured snippet on google will be the instant answer provided by the voice search technology. What it means is that if you’re not first, it’s checkmate. So, it is time you optimize featured snippets to have a higher chance of being that one answer google gives to prospective shoppers searching through their device.
Consider what voice commerce could achieve for your business
- Drive incremental spend
Capturing “spontaneous” or “distressed” purchases or providing inspiration, e.g. recipes that encourage additional spend - Customer loyalty
Through improving customer experience and collecting customer data to enrich CRM - Customer satisfaction
Improve overall customer satisfaction by providing easily accessible and “real-time” information. No more wait times - Cost reduction
Reduce costs for customer support and customer research/surveys
The bottom line
It all begins with awareness, continues with experience, and lasts with trust.
Voice commerce is driven mainly by its ability to drive conversions and increase revenue. This potential of voice technologies has created a sense of urgency, and several companies are developing voice services for multiple platforms like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant.
To lay the groundwork, retailers must first understand the voice capabilities and value proposition they intend to drive to their customers. Next, invest in voice technologies that drive accuracy and successfully satisfy their consumer’s needs. This personalized user experience will help to foster trust, reliability, transparency, validation, and control.
Again, time is of the essence. According to Adobe, 76% of companies that have implemented voice services, find voice to be a differentiator. This validates that the rise of voice shopping has strategic implications for retailers and consumer goods companies, and those who move quickly will reap significant first-mover advantage.
With Krish Technolabs’s Magento B2B Accelerator and Magneto B2C Accelerator powered by Krish Technolabs, merchants can quickly launch an enterprise-ready eCommerce store equivalent to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within 4 weeks first and then focus on implementing customer data-driven enhancements like voice search capabilities in multiple phases using an iterative approach. Contact us today if you’d like to learn how we can help you multiply your Digital Commerce growth with digital commerce strategy & consultation, experience designs, improved out-of-box (OOB) functionality backed by managed services.
This post originally appeared on Krish Technolabs Insight
