It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about voice search. You might conclude that it isn’t too important anymore, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, as local marketers, we’ve grown more comfortable with voice search, so it’s not the hot news topic it once was.
To illustrate how voice search is not only still relevant but is actually growing exponentially, Algolia compiled a host of statistics on the topic.
The first stat of note is that voice-driven shopping is expected to hit $40 billion by 2022, compared to $2 billion in 2017. This substantial increase forecast by a market research report from OC&C Strategy Consultants shows how much more comfortable users are with the technology. Consumers aren’t just using voice search for directions or to ask simple questions, but also to discover and buy products.
Second, a survey into voice assistant consumer adoption conducted by Voicebot.ai found that half of American drivers have used voice search while on a journey. Not only are these drivers getting familiar with voice search in general, they are also using it as they travel. For your clients – restaurants, stores and more – this could be an opportunity to reach a customer nearby.
And finally, according to Narvar, around half of online consumers use voice search to research products, while more than half use the technology to shop for groceries and other products. This shows that voice search is firmly embedded in the online shopping experience, from discovering brands and products to making regular purchases. And what’s more, the trajectory for voice search is only going up.
Voice Search Is Changing User Behavior
Voice search has already changed the nature of search, and this will only increase over the coming years as adoption rates continue to rise. Just as mobile browsing saw a fast ascent and could no longer be ignored, voice search is here to stay—and your business need to be prepared.