Is Voice Commerce Right For My Ecommerce Business?

Voice commerce is a great idea for your ecommerce business if you are selling consumable goods that encourage reordering, or have an existing and loyal customer base. Voice commerce is rapidly evolving from a small-scale trend to a mainstream retail channel. Voice based transactions are continuing to grow, and in doing so become more trusted by the general public. 

Whether or not your business is right for ecommerce will depend on a few variables such as:

• Your product type
• Your target demographic
• Your readiness for technological integration

The most effective form of voice commerce these days is for quick sales that shoppers will make without consideration. This involves re-orders, and items that could be on a subscription basis but aren’t. 

What Is Voice Commerce

Voice commerce is the use of AI-powered voice assistants to perform purchases. This involves browsing, selecting and purchasing products, just without typing. This means that shoppers can make their purchases hands-free using:

• Smartphones
• Speakers
• In-car systems
• Home automation devices (e.g. Alexa or Siri)

They use natural language processing to understand intent and speech recognition to process orders. The most common uses of voice commerce would be:

• Re-ordering household staples
• Tracking orders
• Adding items to a shopping list

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Is Voice Commerce Right For You?

Here are some situations when voice commerce is right for your business:

You Sell Replenishment/Consumable Items

If you sell items that could be subscription items, such as:

• Food and drink (coffee, tea, milk)
• Toiletries (shampoo, soap, toilet paper)
• Health products (vitamins, skincare)
• Cleaning products
• Pet food

Then voice commerce would work well, as customers can easily command: “Hey google, reorder X”. This means that the purchase can be made without having to enter and search within a site. The order will easily be placed, and customers will be thrilled at the ease and convenience. 

Your Audience Is Young

Younger audiences are more brave with new technology, and more likely to engage with this kind of purchasing. Gen Z and Millennials are more tech-savvy, so will be more likely to use voice search. 

Ages 18-34 are the most active users of voice commerce. If these are your target audience, offering them voice commerce will show that you care about their shopping experience and are attempting to make their journey easy.

Your Brand Prioritizes Convenience

If your brand prides itself on its ease and convenience then voice commerce is a great idea. Offering a ‘hands-free’ purchasing journey reduces steps to check out, and also reduces cart abandonment. It allows shoppers to make purchases without having to lift a finger. This takes the idea of ‘ease’ to a whole new level.

You Operate In Local Retail Or Food

Local, high-intent queries are a main way that voice commerce functions. If you are looking to be picked up when customers ask: “find a local pizza place near me”, then voice commerce is right for you. There will be more trust instilled for local brands, and you will increase your reach.

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Should You Use Voice Commerce?

Voice commerce can lead to a range of benefits such as higher conversion rates, increased customer lifetime value and detailed customer data through the words people use to search. As long as you have a budget that can support the technology, and you already have a pre-existing digital presence, voice commerce could be a great solution for you.