The rise of voice-commerce

It seems like voice-activated devices are good for more than just playing music or setting a reminder to buy a pint of milk from the shop. These digital assistants can also be leveraged to offer voice-shoppers offers and promotions.

Today, voice assistants such as Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa are becoming a staple piece of furniture in the homes of many. According to research, one in six Americans now own a smart speaker, with Amazon’s speakers leading the way.

Voice assistants and shopping

E-commerce sales are expected to reach US$4 trillion by 2020, and as such, an increasing amount of devices are pushing to dominate the market- voice assistants being one of them.

The shopping potential of voice assistants seems to be something that consumers desire. One study looked at the opinions of 5000 consumers in the US, France, and Germany in regards to voice assistants and shopping. It was found that a whopping 40 percent of consumers intended on using voice assistants to purchase goods within the next three years.

Furthermore, the survey found that of those respondents who already owned a voice assistant, 35 percent are already using the device to make online purchases, including the buying of groceries and booking an Uber.

The voice-activated coupon

With consumers becoming increasingly comfortable with shopping and completing purchases with voice technology, it seems like a natural progression to offer coupons through the same platform.

Amazon’s Alexa has been pushing its voice shopping capabilities with “Alexa-exclusive” deals. For instance, during it’s Prime Day – Amazon’s own version of a Black Friday sale – they offered first-time voice shoppers $10 off vouchers on top of other exclusive deals.

Now it seems that Google is recognizing the need for its voice assistant to have a strong shopping component if it wants to stand a chance up against the mighty Alexa.

In a journey to the monetization of voice search, Target and Google have partnered up to create a voice-activated coupon on Google Assistant; a first for the tech giant’s digital voice assistant.

The offer was activated by saying “spring into Target” to Google Assistant on the Google Home device, or the Google Assistant app on Android or iOS.

According to reports, the promo was limited to one offer per account, with the $15 having to be used in one single order.

In an email to Adweek, a Target rep said,

“The ‘Spring Into Target’ promotion was offered via Google Express with voice to provide our guests a convenient way to tap into the new seasonal products at Target this spring. … The promotion was popular and we hit our goals early. … Guests who activated the offer still have until April 21 to redeem.”