Voice commerce, or purchasing through smart devices like the Amazon Echo, is struggling to gain popularity. eMarketer expected nearly a third of users to buy smart speakers by 2019, but less than 1% adopted this practice.
In 2019, eMarketer predicts 74,2 million Americans will use these devices at least once a month, and at least 63,3% of those uses will be on an Amazon device. The expected tipping point has not yet occurred, and although Google Home is still far behind Amazon, it is a growing threat.
The prediction that 31% of users would shop through their smart speakers last year has been drastically adjusted: purchases through these devices reached a turnover of $2,1 billion in the United States in 2018, which is equivalent to less than 0,5% of all e-commerce sales made in the North American market.
Many voice shoppers give up.
The market is developing at a slower pace, which may represent an opportunity for retailers to move forward and improve the user experience.
Clearly, the shopping experience needs work, says eMarketer. Brands will need to devote more attention to promoting their voice commerce applications.
