The news that Amazon’s Alexa+ has reached 1 million users inspired me to read a paper that has been on my TBR list for quite some time: “The Voice Of Commerce: How Smart Speakers Reshape Digital Content Consumption And Preferences”. This paper, co-authored by Yoonseock Son, Wonseok Oh and Il Im, and published in the journal MIS Quarterly*, explores the impact of smart speakers on the sale of digital content – namely, video on demand (VoD) services.
The bottom line? When people use smart speakers to search for videos, they buy more, but end up watching less.
The researchers partnered with a company that sold VoD, and which had run a promotional campaign where they offered households smart speakers to their customers, at no extra cost, to encourage trial.
Using purchase, remote control and survey data, the research team found that these customers, when compared with others who had not been offered the smart speaker, searched for information more times during the observation period. However, in each search episode, they conducted less detailed queries (i.e., with fewer clicks and investigation). That is, it looks like smart speakers made searches easier which, in turn, encouraged more frequent and more basic searches.
Moreover, searches made using the smart speakers were more likely to result in purchase of a VoD than the comparable group. 21.5% more likely, in fact, which is quite impressive.
The researchers also found that customers that used their smart speaker for conversational purposes (over and above the purpose of finding and buying a movie) were the most likely to increase their purchases, which suggests that engagement and familiarity with this technology enhances commercial outcomes.
However, does this mean that smart speakers helped customers find what they wanted more easily?
No. Not really. Because the study also shows that, even though consumers bought more video content, they actually watched less of it. 3% less, to be exact:
That is, a consumer who, on average, consumed about 70% of a VOD content prior to smart speaker adoption will consume an average of 67.9% of a VOD content following smart speaker adoption. (p. 858).
Survey data suggests that this is because customers were less careful in their search, and ended up making impulsive and poorly informed purchases:
“57%, 55%, and 64% of the respondents, respectively, answered that they purchased content less carefully, purchased more spontaneously, and paid less attention to searches” (p. 867)
Why Does This Matter?
This study tells us that products like Alexa+ reduce friction, which leads to higher spending, but also to lower satisfaction with the purchase.
For content platforms, it means that smart speakers can boost short-term sales but may not result in customer loyalty. For content producers, it means that customers may fail to engage with the video and watch it until the end. And, for us, the users, it means that convenience may result in overwhelm.
What about you: have you found yourself buying more when using a smart speaker?
*open access version here
Ana Canhoto 