How people interact with Voice in their daily lives –
Now & Next
Enhancing our understanding of how people use voice in their daily lives –
Now and Next
2
TECHNOLOGY
ATTITUDES
RETAIL
SCENARIOS
AI
USAGE
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Through multiple research phases, we track and explore
people’s AI adoption, utilisation, perceptions and desires
3
PARTNER
COLLABORATION
AI PERCEPTONS &
ADOPTION
HOW PEOPLE INTERACT WITH
VOICE IN THEIR DAILY LIVES
1 2 3OPENNESS TO NEAR
FUTURE CAPABILITIES
4
COMING SOON
(Quantitative survey) (Qualitative research) (Quantitative survey)(Workshops)
THIS REPORT
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
COMPLETE
GoPro Documentation In-home Interviews Mobile Ethnographies
Methodology
CAPTURING THE NOW CAPTURING THE NEXT
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next 4
We partnered with 2CV research to conduct a multi-phased qualitative investigation looking at both current Voice behaviours and
perceptions as well as their openness to future capabilities. We recruited a broad range of Voice users taking into account
different demographics, life stages and frequency of voice usage across the US, UK and Spain to maximise our learning.
Voice control
‘feels’ like the
future:
‘Action at the
speed of
thought’
Decreasing the time and effort it takes to interact with technology
5
“It works so well with the high
paced life that people are living
now. We live in a world where
we want/require such
instantaneous answers and this
is one way we can achieve this.”
Female, 31, Pre-Family, UK
“Voice control technology is so
convenient and feels so
futuristic. It’s like when I was a
child in the 80s thinking about
what the future would look like
with technology. I don’t have to
manually type out a question or
look up an answer. Even more
amazing is its ability to be almost
like a person.”
Female, 37, Young Family, USA
“I think Voice technology is
incredible, I think that it’s an
outstanding achievement
technologically to be able
to talk into a microphone or
a device and for it to
understand you – that to me
is exciting”
Male, 63, Older Family, USA
“It’s the future of technology.
It’s the way we’re going to
interact with devices more
and more as it gets better.”
Male, 42, Older Family, Spain
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Established
Voice usage
forms after
initial
excitement
and novelty
wears off
Voice users can be broadly classified into three groups
6Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
High usage due to initial
excitement of purchase
and novelty of usage
Dip in usage as
novelty interactions
decrease ( i.e. testing
random requests,
asking for jokes, etc.)
Actively explore and incorporate
additional devices. These users
claim to have increased their use of
Voice looking for new ways to use
the technology, linking devices and
using more new skills to inform,
entertain and automate their homes
These users have incorporated
Voice as part of their everyday lives.
The core functionality of Voice
control has been embedded into
their home – often centered around a
few core skills and basic functionality
Giving up on Voice, these users
are decreasing how much they
use the technology because of a
lack of comfort and/or
unsuccessful experimentation
Honeymoon Stage
Experimenters
Comfort Zone Users
Lapsed/Lapsing Users
Usa
ge
Time
• Simple: Playing music, playing games,
asking for jokes, controlling TV, etc.
• Sophisticated: Setting up multi-room
audio, creating music playlists, etc.
• Simple: Asking for weather updates,
general queries, setting alarms and
reminders, etc.
• Sophisticated: Recipe assistance,
making calls, helping with homework,
making home announcements, etc.
Information and Assistance
• Simple: Turning on music, controlling
TV/ Radio/ News, etc.
• Sophisticated: Controlling of smart
home devices such as lights, plugs,
thermostats, cameras, etc.
Automation
7
Entertainment
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Popular skills typically deliver a clear benefit in one or several
of these areas
Users want to speak to Voice technology
as they would a human and expect
human-like responses (to a limit)
Brands have an opportunity
to build their personality
through Voice
8Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Voice technology
is a very personal
technology – the
medium creates
emotional
connections
“Sometimes she get things wrong, but
I've always believed electrics have
bad days just as us humans do...”
Female, 39, Pre-Family, UK
“She feels more like a person than a
robot – she’s more like a friend. I can
ask her anything and she knows it – I
don’t have to google things myself
because I can ask her anything.”
Male, 39, Young Family, UK
Households with children are more experimental with Voice
Their usage tends to revolve around using practical functions that
help to make life a bit easier (e.g. checking the weather, news,
setting timers/reminders, turning things on and off, etc.)
Adults typically take a more utilitarian approach in
their relationship
They are often the most confident and prolific users of Voice
control in the household. Their usage tends to consist of
entertainment, including games/quizzes, as well as playing with the
‘robot Voice’ (e.g. asking silly questions just to see what it says)
Kids are much more likely to experiment and play
with Voice-controlled features
9Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Parents like that Voice allows them to multi-task and that their
children can use it to entertain their curiosity
“Taking down notes for me and reminders is so
helpful. Knowing I have an ally in Alexa to help me
remember things without me needing to write things down
is just invaluable for me as a single mom.”
Female, 34, Young Family, USA
“The kids are constantly asking questions – it’s amazing to
have something that can give them answers to their
questions without me needing to google things on my phone.”
Female, 53, Older Family, UK
“I have concerns with my three kids being online but when they
use Alexa or Google Home, I can at least hear what they
want, and I am also able to put controls into it as my phone
is the source it comes from.”
Female, 39, Young Family, UK
“It’s useful for me as being a busy mum it can able me to
do things via Voice control that I'd normally have had
to use my hands for and if I'm tied up doing something
else like cooking it's a big help as I can say Alexa play it
(said nursery rhyme).”
Female, 39, Young Family, UK
“I use Alexa to help control “tv time” for my kids by
hooking her up to the smart-plug I can switch the TV off
with my voice.”
Female, 30, Young Family, USA
An ally to parents A source of entertainment & knowledge for kids
”The kids love to ask it silly questions and play games
with it – it’s great to have something that I find really useful but
the kids also enjoy using it“
Male, 42, Young Family, Spain
10Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Voice delivers
a strong
experience
– but it is far
from perfect
11Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Voice is like a combination of the web,
smartphone apps and e-commerce all
in their infancy stages
Regular users know that they
can’t be too complex or long-
winded in their requests
It is broadly appreciated that
Voice control capabilities will
improve with time
12Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
People adapt their
language and
complexity of
requests to fit the
capabilities and
limitations of Voice
“I notice that we’re steadily using it
more; that’s logical seeing as we’re
happy with it. It took a bit of
getting used to – we had to learn
how to speak to her ‘properly’ to
get the results we wanted.”
Female, 49, Young Family, Spain
Users want to discover and
experiment with new third-party skills
so they feel their device is being
utilised to the best of its ability
However - awareness of additional
skills beyond ‘core’ functionality’ is
low and expectations of skill usage
lifespan is limited
13Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
People want easier
ways to discover
new Voice skills
and uses
“There’s a lot of useless skills
out there – sometimes you’ll be
excited about the idea of
something but realise that it
doesn’t quite work in the way
you expected or wanted it to.”
Male, 26, Pre-Family, UK
Many users have concerns
regarding security and the
potential to make mistakes, or
have experienced this in the past
For users to feel more comfortable,
they would like only their ‘voice’ to be
able to purchase or they at least want
a confirmation of purchases
14Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
People are excited
about Voice
purchases and
brands have the
opportunity to
create positive
initial experiences
“I would be interested in
purchasing if it was setup right
so only I could do it, not my kids –
maybe making repeat purchases
would be easiest…”
Female, 37, Young Family, USA
“I have used the echo to call Uber – I
found it very handy when I was
rushing last weekend to get ready
round an active 2 year old and one of
our first nights out for sometime.
Ease and convenience – hands-
free super good!”
Male, 41, Young Family, UK
“You pay for Spotify, you buy apps,
you have Netflix…it all boils down
to how enticing and compelling
the services are to people”
Male, 40, Pre-family, Spain
“I like the idea of brands creating skills
– but if I have to say the brand
name for no good reason to
activate the skill, that’s pretty
annoying”
Male, 41, Young Family, UK
Brands are welcome in the Voice space if delivering value
BRAND RELEVANCY SIMPLE VALUE DRIVEN
15Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Otherwise consumers feel that brand interaction is an intrusion to their home
Voice devices are highly personal
devices - people don’t want to hear
unexpected occasional adverts
Users only begin to feel comfortable
with the idea of advertising when
they see the clear benefit to them
16Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
People feel
uncomfortable
with direct
advertising on
their Voice devices
“If there is advertising, then I don’t want a
big spiel, but something quick and
useful like promotions could work.”
Female, 30, Young Family, US
“Advertising is ok if it pertains to me
e.g. my local Safeway is doing a BOGOF
on Juice. This most important thing is
that it has to be personalized to me.”
Male, 44, Young Family, US
“Book a taxi to take me to the
airport now”
There is an appetite for Voice transactions – but for now mostly
low-consideration purchases
“Order my favourite takeout”“Order my weekly shop again”
REPEAT ORDERS SIMPLE ORDERS PRE-SET ORDERS
“I’d like brands to be able to get me tickets to a show, or reserve a table at a restaurant;
or even book a room at a hotel – that would be amazing”
Female, 47, Older Family, Spain
17Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Those open to paying for skills
would expect them to be similar
prices to a smartphone app
Offering a free trial or version of a skill
appeals to users so they can assess the it
and determine value through ongoing usage
18Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Consumers are not
averse to paying
for premium
skill content
“You pay for Spotify, you buy apps, you
have Netflix... it all boils down to how
enticing and compelling the services
are to people”
Male, 40, Pre-family, Spain
“I wouldn’t pay for a Voice app unless
the functionality was clearly useful
and almost essential. Maybe 1€/ month
if it was worth it...but it’s hard to say.”
Female, 47, Young Family, Spain
The medium itself
makes encouraging
experimentation
difficultBrands need to build awareness and encourage skill
usage through other products and channels
19
“I’ve downloaded a few apps for it, but I haven’t
used any of them more than once or twice.”
Male, 39, Young Family, UK
Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Users want to discover and experiment with new third-party/
branded skills so they feel their device is being utilised to the best of
its ability
Due to a lack of a screen on many Voice devices, smart speaker
users feel there are less opportunities for Voice control devices to
show them new skills – they tend not to look at Voice apps on their
phones often
Some become aware of third-party/branded skills through
exploring mobile/TV apps connected to their Voice device, but
ongoing usage doesn’t always result in continuing to experiment and
try new skills
“I set reminders for things like dental
appointments, social events (theatre, meetings for
meals with friends, but I do not use any
additional skills beyond that. I am, vaguely,
aware that I am not using the device to its full
potential, but I am impressed by its capabilities.”
Male, 59, Older Family, UK
The future of Voice technology promises excitement
and further simplification of daily life
21Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Voice hasn’t quite caught up with our futuristic expectations
Improving Basic Functionality
• Faster dialogue/more efficient language
• Better understanding of Voice commands
• User profiles activated by their voice – consistent across all
devices and companies
• More natural conversations, not having to repeat wake-
words during a chain of exchanges
• Ease of linking and seamless usage of third party devices
22Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
A growing distrust
of big tech and fear
of data abuse
could restrict Voice
Caution and concern about ‘always-
on’ listening, and potential for this
power to be abused (for commercial
or illegal gain)
Fears about data security and
potential for ‘inappropriate usage’
of Voice data are held by users
and non-users alike
“I would like to trust the brands.
However, I am sure they monitor
elements of what I do as adverts that
come up on social media sites often
reflect what I have been looking
at/asking Alexa about.”
Male, 34, Pre-Family, UK
“I’m a bit wary to fully trust because of
all the privacy breaches - I do not feel
comfortable with employees listening
to our family’s conversations – it’s an
invasion of privacy.”
Female, 37, Young Family, USA
Ultimately, most users of Voice
feel that the evident and
practical benefits outweigh the
potential negatives
Most are broadly comfortable with data
being gathered when used to improve
services and to provide a more
personalised experience
23Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
But fears can be
overcome by
ongoing positive
experiences
“I haven’t looked into what they are
using the data for but I believe its just
to improve products. I would be more
concerned about using brands that
weren’t household names.”
Male, 39, Young Family, UK
“I really don’t think anyone is ‘listening’
per se, I certainly have nothing
interesting to hear and plus, I don’t make
purchases or provide sensitive
information. What really matters is the
practicality of the device.”
Male, 47, Pre-Family, Spain
24Retail Revolution | How people interact with Voice in their daily lives – Now & Next
Voice has a tremendous amount of potential for becoming
ever-more relevant in our lives
Desired Future Features
• Increased home automation, moving from lights to appliances to total home control
• More engaging entertainment experiences and creative uses of cross-device play,
such as Voice incorporation into games etc.
• Ability to learn from user habits and predict needs for information and support
• For families with children, they are open to "nanny" style help with the kids (e.g.
homework, chores, personal hygiene)
• Easier, safer purchasing features, starting with simple purchases first, but eventually
almost everything