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The advancements in technology have completely changed the way how consumer industries performed. In this regard, voice search is gained a lot of popularity as it allows customers to explore on the internet by asking a question on a smartphone, smart device or a computer through speech. Most people these days are shopping via voice assistants like Alexa, as voice-enabled search is increasingly gaining momentum amongst consumers.

Though voice search, a speech recognition technology, is not new, but the action of talking directly to a machine in the past has not been a customary activity among consumers. The heightened explosion in smart phones embedded with voice-enabled assistants such as Bixby, Google Assistants, Siri, and the arrival of smart hubs like Amazon Echo and Goole Home has driven the rise in voice searches, revolutionizing consumer behaviour.

Rising Trends in Voice Search 

Considering industry reports, over 50 percent of all online searches in the UK will be conducted verbally by the end of 2020. And nearly one-fifth of searches conducted through the search giant Google are now performed using speech, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai noted.

Moreover, in a recent Voicebot survey, almost 60 percent of the US adults found utilizing voice search, while 47 percent expect to increase the use. The study further revealed that 33 percent of online adults are using this technology monthly.

In one another global study from Microsoft Bing Ads found that the majority of users surveyed, around 72 percent, are using voice search through a digital assistant, while more than half of respondents have leveraged voice skills and actions through their smart home speaker.

Thus, the number of users with voice search will continue to grow, embracing the medium as a new way to query the digital world.

Impact on the Consumer Industries

While it is currently difficult to envisage that how people, who use voice search, generally behave, there is certainly voice searches are conversational and will become more effective in years to come.

Voice search technology has also transformed the ways of shopping customers did earlier. Today, voice shopping industry is on the rise and is projected to reach over US$40 billion across the UK and the US by 2022. This growth is largely driven by the boost in smart speakers, particularly Amazon smart speakers.

Clothing brand Kohl’s, for instance, integrated voice search functions into its app, allowing customers to find out products faster, with convenience. Also, there are several brands who have responded to the revolution and built specifically purposed Alexa skills to capture at least a small percentage of new user behaviour.

They must consider how they can create a voice user interface that can offer a personal and incessant experience. Just like companies’ landing pages are designed to encourage users to click-through, voice search also needs to become more reliable than an assistant. Thus, to effectively accomplish this, brands need to have a clear understanding of where users are likely to engage with brands as they progress through their journey.

So, with these rising trends, it is clear that the rise of voice search is in its infancy and have a seismic impact on the consumer industries in years to come.