The number of smart speaker users is growing by 48%
a year. That's faster than any tech
product since the smart phone. By the end
of 2018, 90 million Americans will have smart speakers. (Koetsier, 2018)
No longer just for techies, speakers are now being
adopted by Baby Boomers (8 million users), younger Gen X women, and parents and
families - including my 7 year old niece Mallory, who got one for her birthday.
(Stone, 2018)
Before
long we'll all be having conversations with our voice assistants. And then, we'll be happy to let them make our
decisions for us.
Decision-making
is hard work. What makes it even harder
is having too many choices. And the
Internet is all about infinite choices. So
we find plenty of short cuts to make decisions easier. For instance we may look at only one element
- say price, or we could only consider items with a 5 star rating - which
indicates that others like the product.
It's what we do.
So, I
wasn't surprised to read that 85% of voice assistant users have purchased the
item suggested by smart speakers despite the fact that it may have differed
from their initial intent. And, 37% of
voice purchasers 18-34 "always" or "often" purchase the
first option selected for them by voice assistants. (Faw, 2018)
It's just
so much easier to let someone else decide.
Do you
have a smart speaker yet? If so, have
you bought anything based on a recommendation from it? If you don't have a smart speaker yet, are
you planning to get one? Will you let it
make decisions for you even if they are biased?
Does it concern you that you have far less choice when you buy things on
mobile phones and smart speakers than you do online?
Koetsier,
J. (2018, May 29) Smart Speaker Users
Growing 48% Annually, To Hit 90M In USA This Year. forbes.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2018/05/29/smart-speaker-users-growing-48-annually-will-outnumber-wearable-tech-users-this-year/#3da75bc05dde
Stone,
J. (2018, November 9) Smart Boomers,
Smart Speakers, Smart Marketing. mediapost.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018, from
Faw,
L. (2018, August 8) How Brands Can Avoid The Dreaded Voice Assistant
'Dismissal' mediapost.com Retrieved August 29, 2018, from https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/323358/how-brands-can-avoid-the-dreaded-voice-assistant.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=110385&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI
