Voice commerce will revolutionise shopping

Coming immediately after the critical holiday trading period, both the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and NRF 2018 Retail’s Big Show & Expo provided a timely view of the technology landscape, at both a strategic and investment level, for the year ahead.

The use of voice to shop was a big trend at NRF this year, with Google Home being the dominant piece of hardware to convey conversational commerce.

Indeed, Google’s keynote focused on how voice commerce will revolutionise shopping in a disruption similar to the impact web and mobile has had on the store.

Voice is the new finger swipe

The more consumers become familiar with products such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri, the more retailers will begin offering applications enabling consumers to shop and engage using their voice, as opposed to a swipe of their finger.

At Isobar, we believe there are three key stages in the evolution of voice as an interface.

CES also kicked off with a major Google Assistant presence as the technology giant continues to play catch-up with market leader Amazon.

Developed in collaboration with Amazon, Diageo and Isobar demoed a new technology experience to an innovation-hungry audience at CES.

Named ‘The Bar’, the new skill is inspired by Diageo’s award-winning website uk.thebar.com, which has been helping millions since 2013.

Tapping into the latest voice technology and the functionality of the Amazon Echo Show, ‘The Bar’ helps consumers create great cocktails at home

Tapping into the latest voice technology and the functionality of the Amazon Echo Show, ‘The Bar’ helps consumers create great cocktails at home.

Consumers start by asking Alexa to open ‘The Bar’ and are then presented with three different options:

Make a specific cocktail – users can tell Alexa what they want to make and Alexa will provide a recipe and guide the user through preparing the cocktail.

Help me choose – Alexa suggests easy-to-make cocktails based on the consumer’s preferences, eg, sweet or sour, long or short.

Learn techniques – Alexa helps consumers to master mixology techniques with practical advice, such as how to muddle your mojito to perfection.

Learn more about customer behaviour

By using the data, Diageo can learn more about consumer needs and serve them better cocktail advice over time.

It can personalise their recommendations, based on the types of drinks people have ordered in the past, or challenge them to create cocktails that match their experience level.

Were you unable to attend either CES or NRF this year? Don’t worry.

Download our comprehensive reviews of NRF and CES to learn more.