Etail but not as we know it: Google Home Launch

As we all well know – Google has the answer.

This week the tech giant launched their Amazon Echo and Alexa competitor; Google Home with their aptly named Assist function to the UK market.

It was our mums we used to call across the room to get us a biscuit or pass the remote – the new era of voice technology is fast becoming the new way in which we demand things and by things, we mean the news, weather reports, traffic, sports, local business news…and of course shopping.

What does this mean for retailers currently reviewing their EPoS and retail management software, the overall future of consumer shopping behaviour and a further re-shaping of retail?

Now we don’t even have to tap the keys on our laptops or the interactive screens on our phone to tell us what’s happening in the world and where radios once gave us our information and updates, now these elegant and highly sophisticated pods give us so much more.

Amazon users can ask Alexa to add items to their shopping list and last month in the US, they could then get these delivered on the same-day. And it doesn’t stop there.

Google Home has got retailers including Whole Foods, Walgreens and Bed Bath & Beyond on board and US users can already purchase from them.

Last year, voice searches attributed to more than 10% of all searched globally, so it’s high time for both tech firms and retailers to step up their game in order to meet demand.

Grocery shopping where regular purchases are made from a saved list is the obvious way in which voice technology could easily make tracks in the retail market.

However, it’s easy to see why fashion retailers could be slow to catch on. They rely on their visual representation and the pull towards the valued in store experience to building brand identity.

Smart home voice enabled technology doesn’t bridge the gap far enough just yet for fashion, or big ticket purchases for that matter, but what is evident is that retailers need to start thinking about the next ten years and they can do this by dipping their proverbial toe in these types of technology.

From the base level, investing in an ecommerce site, mobile-enabled, fast and fuss-free is a great way to start but migrating to a cloud retail management system will ultimately help you keep up with the demands of the modern consumer and meet their growing needs.

As Retail Week reported this week: “Accenture research finding that 38% of millennials are willing to try voice-activated ordering and 10% have already used it, the influence of voice on consumers shopping habits could just be warming up.”

Why not download the lasted retail research report:

“Retail Reinvented: Market Insights 2017”?