Voice-assisted devices are going to see a 70% year-on-year sale growth, despite only 25% of retail marketers willing to implement it, two studies claim.
According to Canalys’ study, which predicts voice-tech shipments to reach more than 56m units this year, with 36% of the retail marketers acknowledging that voice-search devices will change the way customers search for items over the next 18 month.
However, what retailer marketers’ recognise as a disruptor in the field isn’t necessarily reflected in their actions. This idea is suggested by Greenlight Digital report, which reports that 29% of retail marketers are currently not doing anything to accommodate the growth of the technology.
Less than a half (43%) of marketers admit that they will be investing marketing budget into advertising with Amazon to reach shoppers via voice-search, with 25% saying that they’re unsure about such investment. This suggests uncertainty, despite many recognising the value of it could bring in improving customer engagement levels.
The report says that digital markets are currently pulling their weight when it comes to adopting voice-search strategies, with 32% are currently reassessing product names to match shoppers’ natural discourse so they can find products easier.
Andreas Pouros, chief executive officer at Greenlight Digital says: “Voice-assistants aren’t a gimmick. It is here to stay and is going to change the way brands reach consumers. Marketers must put their money where their mouth is when it comes to addressing these changes.”
To get to a point of investing, retailers must be armed with the audience insight that can inform them how and where their customers are purchasing. Only then can marketers accurately assess whether they need to adjust their marketing strategy to maximise the growth in the use of voice assistants.
Assessing keywords and product names, and optimising websites for voice search is an action that needs to be invested in – both in terms of time and money. The brands who see the value of investing now will be the ones who reap the benefits of this increasingly popular technology.”
Image credit: Fotolia