Voice assistants set to make an impact on Christmas e-commerce market

Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - 10:27 by Graham Miller

Industry analysts are anticipating that more people than ever before will use platforms like Amazon’s Alexa in order to buy online ahead of this year’s festive season.

Internet Retailing reports that a new study from Conversant found that 31 per cent of UK consumers embraced voice assistants to place orders in the run-up to Christmas 2017, with this trend only expected to gain momentum over the next few weeks.

One of the key advantages of using a voice assistant to search and shop is that it can be done at the same time as carrying out another activity, such as a household chore. This helps consumers make more efficient use of their time and thus gives voice orders the edge over traditional devices.

Report spokesperson, Elliott Clayton, said that it was obvious that shoppers were more interested in convenience than almost anything else when buying online. This is particularly true in the busiest season of the retail calendar, when consumers are already rushed off their feet with other preparations ahead of December 25th.

Clayton went so far as to claim that even major discounts might not be enough to sway shoppers unless they have a simple and straightforward way of taking advantage of them. This reaffirms the idea that a streamlined checkout process is a must for any e-commerce site that wants to flourish in 2018.

Even with the rise of voice assistant and mobile shopping, 88 per cent of people are still set on buying at least some of their Christmas presents in-store this year. This is good news for high street outlets that have been put under increasing pressure of late, with high profile financial troubles suffered by a number of incumbent retail brands.