Place your mobile bets on voice assistants, IMRG

Voice assistants could be the next device to push up mobile commerce growth, according to IMRG’s Andy Mulcahy.

In a comment piece for RTIH, he observes: “For a while, smart watches seemed like the next device to watch, but in truth they have not made sufficient in-roads to be indispensable in the same way that the smartphone has become. The smartest bet at the moment would be for voice assistants to hugely influence user behaviour over the next few years; Amazon, Google and various others tend to offer a number of different models, with the entry-level device retailing at £50 but regularly being promoted heavily during discounting periods, when the price falls to as low as £35 – which is very affordable for such an advanced piece of equipment.”

He adds: “Consequently, voice assistants are finding their ways into people’s homes at some scale. At present, the use-case for retail, outside of replenishing basic items, isn’t immediately obvious to the general public. But the newer models that include screens would give voice-activated shopping a visual aid that could quickly overcome this challenge.”