Voice payments potential is ‘phenomenal’, Amazon Pay exec
Voice payments represent a "new era in commerce”, according to Amazon Pay VP Patrick Gauthier.
"It is akin to what happened with mobile maybe 10 years ago or even with e-commerce 20 years ago,” he told CNBC.
Gauthier flagged up Amazon Pay's latest research, which found that roughly 40% of consumers think smart assistants would be used in some part of their shopping journey over the next three years. "The potential is phenomenal," he said.
But, he added, as with the early days of mobile, “there is a lot we need to learn. There is lot we need to understand about what are the right use cases because trying to do with a smart assistant what already works well in a mobile would be really a waste of everybody's time.”
Security concerns also remain a potential barrier. Almost half of the consumers surveyed by Amazon Pay said the safety of their personal and financial information was their most pressing concern, while 34% stated they would not trust voice services to accurately select the product they needed. "We are exploring how to augment the customer experience before, during and after the purchase," Gauthier concluded.
