While Black Friday, Cyber Monday and, by the looks of it Christmas and Boxing Days, will see a boom in mobile-led, online sales, this Christmas will also see a boom in voice commerce, where consumers order their gifts through voice-led Zero-UI (User Interface) devices such as Google Home or Amazon Echo.
Research shows that 45% of consumers are already using or plan to use digital assistants in the near future. And there’s appetite for it, with 41% saying they would love to be able to shop using voice activation devices.
Patrick Munden, Global Head of Retail and Marketing at Salmon, explains: “In what has been a bumper year for many retailers during the Black Friday period, a fresh opportunity awaits in the run-up to Christmas. While some have legitimate concerns over whether Black Friday has hijacked their December profits, what we’re seeing in our operations room is a strong upsurge in number of orders and traffic compared to this time last year.
“With voice-enabled devices currently the biggest craze – and lots more of these devices purchased around Black Friday! – retailers need to be prepared for this new channel for customers to purchase goods. As we head towards the end of December, every retailer will need to ensure they have all their back- and front-end systems in place to cope with the increase in demand if they are to really reap the rewards of seemingly indulgent consumers.”
