ASOS launches voice shopping on Google Assistant
By Retail Technology | Thursday October 11 2018
Online fashion retailer ASOS has become one of the first company’s of its type to launch on Google Assistant
It has unveiled its new voice shopping guide, called Enki, for customers across the US and UK.Consumers use the service by activating it with the phrase “hey Google, talk to Asos” spoken into their Google Home smart speaker. It then works in conjunction with their smartphone.
Enki already launched on Facebook Messenger earlier this year.
ASOS senior product manager Jason Gregory said: “With the launch of Enki on Facebook Messenger and now Google Assistant, we’re exploring ways that conversational commerce can help us make the ASOS shopping experience as easy and intuitive as possible.”
Voice commerce
Jonny Pennington, head of SEO at digital marketing agency Visualsoft, applauded the move by ASOS and called on others to follow suit.
He said: ““This is a bold move that all e-retailers should be paying close attention to. Voice search may feel unnatural at first, but ecommerce was the same way in its formative years. Businesses that opted not to sell online subsequently spent years playing catch-up, and the same could be true for voice commerce.”
As it stands, only 3% have adapted their SEO strategies to account for voice-led search results – a statistic that Pennington calls a ‘concerning lack of preparedness’.
He added: “Voice commerce could particularly benefit local, high-street retailers that are not bound by the strict tone-of-voice guidelines which restrict the messaging of larger corporates. It may also be a lifeline for retail brands looking to survive, innovate and grow amidst a volatile retail landscape. However, voice search has thus far been worryingly overlooked by brands.”
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