Shoppers appear to be starting to enjoy voice-search, with more than a half (58%) of them saying that they have used the technology to find local business information in the past 12 months via their smartphones (56%), according to BrightLocal’s Voice Search for Local Business Study.
A half (53%) of voice technology users say they search for local business daily, whereas, the majority (76%) explore local perks at least weekly, reports the analysis. It examined the impact of voice-assisted searches on local businesses and found that consumers are using the new tool in droves. In addition, some 72% of shoppers reveal that they would be willing to experiment with local voice search.
The report analysed consumer preference patterns, broken down by digital devices in the last 12 months. Smartphones (56%) appear to be the most favourable gadget of those who conduct voice searches, followed by desktops/laptops (28%), tablets (28%) and smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home (18%).
Voice-search owners who have explored the technology in the past find it significantly useful and tend to use it more frequently than the non-users.
The majority (74%) of all voice-search users report using this technology at least once a week, in comparison to 76% of smart-speaker owners who disclose that they do so at least weekly. For smartphone owners, this figure sits at 74%.
When it comes to top-searched industries, restaurants and cafes take the lead (51%), with grocery stores on 41% and food deliveries on 35%. One in three consumers has previously ordered a food takeaway using a voice-search.
Many also use voice-searches to find information, as opposed to discovering businesses, with 45% of consumers have used the technology to find addresses, directions, and phone numbers. They also want to use voice to carry out other task, such as making restaurant and bar reservations (54%), finding out a price (46%) and offers on products or services (41%).
“It’s excellent to see the positive impact the voice search revolution is already having for local businesses. An ever-growing number of consumers now have access to voice search, so there’s plenty of potential for even more businesses to get their voices heard. Voice search is only going to grow in importance – and those who optimize for voice at this early stage will reap the benefits of shoppers excited by the trend,” comments Myles Anderson, the founder and chief executive officer at BrightLocal.
