Smart speakers and virtual assistants, such as Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and others have grown in popularity over the past few years, and it’s expected that there will be 8.4 billion digital voice assistants in use worldwide by 2024. While they are primarily associated with listening to music, smart speakers and virtual assistants are reshaping the way consumers interact with online shopping. From comparing prices to placing orders, smart speakers are the newest and hottest trend to hit the eCommerce market.

Here, we’ll be going over how smart speakers and virtual assistants work, the shopping trends that are associated with these devices, and the best ways to incorporate them into your business strategy. Ready to get started? Let’s dive in.

What are smart speakers and virtual assistants?

A smart speaker is a device that can complete tasks via a virtual assistant. Simply put, the speaker is the hardware and the virtual assistant (or the brains of the operation), is the software. Currently, smart speakers and virtual assistants can search for information on the internet, play music, make phone calls, manage lists, and interact with other smart devices. And as the demand for smart homes increases, there will be no telling what future features and capabilities these smart assistants will have.

Not only are smart assistants able to help complete tasks, such as making appointments and setting reminders, but they also provide a hands-free way for consumers to shop online. 43% of smart speaker owners shop online using their devices, while 51% use them for product research. Users can check and compare prices, fill up or empty their carts, and of course, make payments just by speaking to their device.

Smart speaker and virtual assistant shopping trends

Voice searching in eCommerce, also known as voice commerce, is a hot new trend that is soon to become the norm, and it’s no surprise why. The ability for consumers to speak their wants and receive answers instantaneously all from the comfort of their own homes is a very appealing notion.

There are several ways consumers are using virtual assistants in the eCommerce industry, including:

• Browsing for new products
• Receiving information about deals and discounts
• Performing product searches
• Creating shopping lists
• Searching product reviews
• Comparing prices
• Reordering past purchases
• Arranging items in a shopping cart
• Checking out items

Though many are now using smart speakers and virtual assistants to shop, it’s not equal across all ages. As the trend continues, more consumers are jumping on the bandwagon, but it’s millennials who are leading the way, with Gen Xers starting to close the gap and Baby Boomers falling a bit behind.

Globally, smart speaker sales are rising across the board with the most popular countries being the US and UK. Germany and France are beginning to catch up, while China remains high on the list.

Adding smart speakers and virtual assistants to your business strategy

As voice commerce grows, it is in the best interest of eCommerce businesses to get ahead of the trend and make their products available and searchable via smart speakers and virtual assistants. Smart speakers and virtual assistants improve user experience and streamline the shopping process, making them beneficial for both sellers and consumers.

To take advantage of this new way of shopping, it’s important to learn the difference between text and voice searches and to gain a better understanding of SEO for voice. Then, make your products and your site voice searchable.

Here are some tips on how to make that happen:

• Use natural language
• Understand which trigger words are being used (“how” is the most popular)
• Optimize for Google Position 0
• Get your business listed on search engines like Yelp, Facebook, Yellow Pages, and Google My Business
• Ask your customers to review your business online
• Make sure your site is mobile friendly

Streamline payments made from smart speaker and virtual assistant transactions with Payoneer

The future looks promising for smart speakers and virtual assistants as trends and purchases are all increasing. By incorporating smart speakers and virtual assistants into your business strategy, you are futureproofing your online business and offering your customers an elevated user experience.

With Payoneer, you can streamline the payments made via smart speaker and virtual assistant transactions and diversify your payment collection methods, ultimately increasing your bottom line and helping you expand your business. Sign up with Payoneer today to take advantage of:

• Local receiving accounts – Get paid like a local worldwide. Local receiving accounts allow your customers to pay you via local bank transfer in a variety of currencies.
• Currency conversions – Quickly convert your payments to a variety of currencies at applicable market rates with no hidden fees.
• Store manager – Manage all your marketplace stores from a single location, allowing you to easily track your payments, analyze trends and revenues and more.