Online shopping used to be the ultimate convenience. Now, we expect overnight shipping and suggested products. We expect to repeat a previous order with one click. Retailers that are not adopting these features will not stay relevant in the online marketplace. In 2016 Google released their first smart speaker, Google Home, to compete with the Amazon Echo. Here is how they put a twist on one of the most highly-anticipated features: voice-activated shopping.
Unlike the Echo, which only orders products from Amazon, Google partnered with 50 popular retailers. The Verge asserts that offering products from popular brick-and-mortar stores will draw a new group of users to voice-activated shopping. People who don’t have Amazon Prime accounts don’t see voice-activated shopping as a convenience. By partnering with well-known stores like Walmart, Costco, and now Target, Google may have found the key to success.
The partnerships are win-win, as each company competes with Amazon.
CNBC says that by 2018, you will be able to link Target and Google accounts to easily reorder products. Google Home remembers the quantity of each product you order, to make consistent reorders simple. Google Home also uses your shopping patterns to recommend the most relevant products.
The service offers free delivery for purchases that meet a minimum requirement, which differs by retailers. The partnering retailers also provide same-day delivery. Google Home doesn’t require a membership for voice-activated shopping, unlike the Echo. As of now, voice-activated shopping is only compatible with Google Home and Android TV. Google Announced this feature will soon be available for iOS and Android app stores. If voice-activated shopping is the future, Google Home will certainly give the Amazon Echo a run for its money.
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