Digital Assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home are starting to take off, and they are already changing the ways consumers interact with technology. RBC Financial has already predicted that these devices will be a “mega hit” by 2020, and TechCrunch magazine has predicted that “voice sales” will reach over $40 billion by 2022. 

Voice shopping, if you’re unaware, is using voice-based apps, dubbed "skills", to make online purchases without the need for a keyboard or a screen. The same TechCrunch survey noted that 62 percent of owners of these devices had used them to make a purchase within the past year. They also found that the owners of digital assistants were more likely to be younger, affluent, and to have families than the average shopper. Innovations in voice shopping are making it absurdly easy for busy people to buy what they need with a quick word to a smart speaker, and improved logistics networks are seeing purchases delivered within hours. We at Adimo are convinced that voice shopping is the future of e-commerce, and that's why we've recently released the first shoppable voice skill for FMCG brands.

Here's how it works, and why you should care...

What Did I Just See?

The video shows how a simple voice command with the Amazon Echo Show (and Adimo Voice) will bring up a scrollable menu of leading retailers. The customer chooses their preferred option, says it aloud, and is promptly offered images of products for sale. They choose a cereal, say its name, and the box of Shreddies is instantly added to their basket. What’s more, on their next purchase, the customer can simply say “Alexa, tell Nestle to add my favourite cereal,” and the item will immediately be added to their cart.

Adimo Voice is the first Echo Show enabled FMCG skill, and it offers brands and retailers an easy and cost-effective way to break into the fast-growing voice shopping market. It’s an innovation that allows you to offer your customers the ease and convenience of Amazon with zero configuration or third-party development. Adimo Voice is compatible with all Echo devices, but is optimized for the game-changing Echo Show.

Why Should I Care?

The Adimo Voice skill offers consumers a choice of which retailer they prefer to shop with. They’re not limited to Amazon. The skill makes it very easy for a customer new to Digital Assistants to continue buying the brands they love from the retailers they trust with maximum convenience. If you’re competing with Amazon in the FMCG industry, this is critical to your future. Currently, most shoppers have reported that they don’t yet trust Amazon’s recommendations and are using voice shopping to buy products they already know. Amazon is working feverishly to steer shoppers to their own products, and if you can’t offer similar ease of use and convenience, you won’t be able to compete. With Adimo Voice, when a busy young professional asks Alexa to buy a box of Shreddies, she won’t be asking Amazon, she’ll be asking YOU.