Voice shopping is just getting started: shop Argos products with Google Assistant

Google Assistant has made it possible to flick through the Argos catalogue and buy products using just your voice 
Voice shopping is about to take off
Argos
Amelia Heathman7 September 2018

The launch of AI assistant Alexa in 2014 marked a major first in shopping tech with the functionality for people to buy things from Amazon using their voice.

Now, the Google Assistant is catching up to Amazon by partnering up with Argos in the UK to allow UK shoppers to buy Argos products by chatting with their smart speaker.

Simply say, “Hey Google, Ask Argos” and you can reserve and buy 20,000 different products using voice technology.

Products available to buy by voice include things like technology, toys and home essentials. You can then order the product you want and arrange to pick it up the same day from more than 850 Argos stores around the country.

Speaking about the announcement, Argos’s CEO John Rogers said: “Voice technology has the potential to revolutionise how we shop in the future. Digital home assistants have soared in popularity over the past year and people are increasingly looking to their smart devices to help with the smooth running of their lives.

“We predict that the Voice Shop service will be a big hit and we will develop and refine the offer further as we get feedback from our customers.”

Rogers is right that AI assistants have soared in popularity. According to YouGov, smart speaker ownership has doubled in the UK, with around one in 10 people owning at least one device in their home whether that’s an Amazon Echo, a Google Home or a Sonos One.

Argos itself has seen this rise, with sales of smart speakers growing 151 per cent year-on-year.

At the moment, people are mainly using their devices to play music and ask general questions, yet as the shopping services become more sophisticated, this usage will most certainly rise.

However, as the technology is still in its infancy, it may not be perfect the first few times you use it. Argos is seeking feedback from customers using the service so its technical team can continue to develop and improve the Voice Shop experience for everyone.

Who knows what else you could be voice shopping for? First stop: Amazon and Argos, next stop: the whole of the UK high street, maybe. Who even needs screens anymore?

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