Friday, September 20, 2019

Voice and Commerce - Keep it immediate


What if we're getting smart speakers and shopping wrong?

I've read a lot in recent years about the hopes for shopping on smart speakers like Amazon Echo - lots of different attempts to get people to order free samples, to put things into their shopping baskets, and to say phrases to get discounts at checkout.

But what if we've been thinking about it in the wrong way?

Two recent stories from the hospitality industry point in a different direction.

First, Starbucks has done a partnership with Alibaba in China to let people make delivery orders on the smart speakers, integrated with Alibaba's food delivery service.  Basically 'bring me a coffee'

Second, McDonalds has bought a speech tech company, Apprente, which automates voice ordering in multiple lauguages.  They already use this in some drive-ins, to automate the process.  Again, this is essentially 'I want a Big Mac & Fries'.

I think that this is a much more compelling use than 'add to my basket'.

(Thanks for reminding me to keep updating my blog, Scott!)

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