The pioneering wave of transformation in the retail & e-commerce realm

Authored by Rama Krishna Sreepada, Co-Founder & Architect, [x]cube LABs

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail and e-commerce, the surge in voice commerce is emerging as a revolutionary wave of transformation. With the e-commerce boom and paradigm shift in the consumer tastes and demands, businesses are increasingly recognizing the true prospect of voice technology to rethink the way people shop.

In the last decade, a steep rise in e-commerce explosion was observed, which especially skyrocketed during the onset of the pandemic. From the convenience and high dependence  on mobile-apps to the flawless experience of online shopping, the digital era has ushered the realm of retail in a completely new leaf. 

As per a recent report by WATConsult, India’s user base of voice commerce shoppers who use voice search options for shopping is set to rise to a staggering 168 million shoppers by the end of 2022, up from the current 83 million.

Let’s understand what Voice Commerce is.

Voice Commerce, most seen as a silent disruptor in the retail industry, which leverages the power of voice-enabled technology/devices to streamline the seamless shopping process and make it easier and more convenient for consumers to discover and buy products, helping enhancing their experience, greatly improving accessibility and finally resulting in increasing the frequency and the variety of products they buy.

Growth Drivers for Voice Commerce

Even though the use of voice technology for shopping is still nascent in India, with only a third of users using voice assistants to purchase products online, according to recent research, nearly 42% of female shoppers said they had used voice assistants for online shopping, while most shoppers belonging to the age group of 18-24 years frequently used assistant enabled devices to shop online. Additionally, most of the working professionals residing in the top four metros and the next five metros said they had used voice assistants for online shopping.

The prime driving factors have been the changing tastes and demands of consumers. Modern shoppers seek convenience, personalization & efficiency & voice commerce caters to these preferences by providing a hands-free and intuitive shopping experience. Consumers can now simply speak their preferences, and voice-enabled devices equipped with artificial intelligence and natural language processing algorithms can interpret and execute their commands.

Voice integrated with online commerce is transforming the future of digital commerce and revolutionizing the B2B and B2C e-commerce in India, which has also increased consumer confidence and further improved conversion prospects for brands and businesses.

The advent and discovery of voice assistant tools like Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's Siri also became an integral part of customer’s lives to make convenient shopping choices and further bolster the retail landscape.

With the speed of digital transformation, the use of AI & ML helps brands optimize their voice-activated promotions and offers, and understand and respond to customer needs and behavior better, giving brands a competitive edge and helping them stay ahead in the rapidly evolving retail market.

Widespread use of Voice commerce

Unlike others, the integration of voice commerce is not just limited to traditional e-commerce giants; small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also recognize this technology's potential to boost sales and customer loyalty. By incorporating voice-activated features into their websites or mobile apps, businesses of all sizes can stay ahead of the curve and meet the evolving needs of their customers.

Going beyond convenience

The appeal of voice commerce goes beyond its convenience as it also addresses accessibility issues. Voice technology allows individuals with disabilities or those who are visually impaired to navigate the online shopping landscape effortlessly. This inclusivity factor which catching a lot of eyeballs as it should, further aligns with the broader trends of creating a more accessible and diverse retail environment, which is also a need of the hour.

Challenges

 While Voice commerce is a promising growth catalyzer for the retail and e-commerce sector, there have been some grievances and concerns about the privacy and security of their financial data while using voice features.

Additionally, businesses must fine-tune voice recognition algorithms to better understand diverse accents and languages, ensuring a seamless experience for a global audience.

Retailers/ brands must perpetually prioritize data protection and reassure customers that their personal information is secure, which is seen as a burgeoning issue with the recent rise in cyber scams.

Conclusion

 While the advent of voice commerce comes as a great prospect for the retail and E-commerce sector, it cannot be treated as just another channel for promotion. Brands must re-evaluate their approach from the bottom up to align their efforts with their customers’ needs. Also, brands should consciously focus on understanding how voice technology fits into their overall customer engagement strategy and how it can be used to collect valuable data on customer behavior and preferences. With the virtue of which brands can create a better customized and integrated personalized shopping experience for their customers, further driving long-term growth and profitability.