‘True wireless’ earbuds, the Sony WF-SP700N, are compatible with Google Assistant


February 2018 ertonline.co.uk


Many experts have been calling 2017 the ‘Year of Voice,’ but 2018 will see voice make far bigger impacts on revenue


Sergey Bludov, senior


vice-president, media and entertainment, DataArt


Home being fairly basic in terms of sound quality, one of the biggest segments could be smart speaker upgrades, as early adopters begin to fi t out extra rooms with smart speakers. CES saw the debut of the LG ThinQ Speaker WK7, a voice-activated smart speaker developed with Meridian Audio that can output in 24bit/192kHz Hi-Resolution Audio and 24-bit up-sampling. It uses Google Assistant rather than Alexa, and also works as a smart-home hub, with a voice-activated interface for LG’s other smart-home appliances.


Zoning in Futuresource expects developed markets to reach saturation point for smart speakers by 2020, so how can electrical retailers capitalise on this growing opportunity? In terms of the physical in-store experience, one obvious approach is to create a ‘voice zone’. “Electrical retailers should create a dedicated area in their stores in which they showcase voice-assistant products as well as compatible ecosystem products, such as lights, connected plugs, and thermostats,” says Jurjen Amsterdam, senior category manager for home systems at Harman EMEA. “This will allow customers to better understand all possibilities beyond audio playback over the voice-enabled speakers.” One immediate hurdle in selling the voice experience is trust. Many consumers will have experimented once or twice with a voice assistant on their smartphone, and laughed at the comical results. That was probably a few years ago when they were new on the scene, and rather basic. “Customers are looking for a level of trust and


reliability when it comes to adopting voice-control technology,” says Jelmer Jonkman, product


LG’s ThinQ Speaker deals in hi-res audio


marketing manager at Universal Electronics. “They’ve likely had a frustrating experience with voice technology in the past and so they want to know that the product they’re about to spend their hard-earned money on is going to work straight out of the box.” If reassurance is vital at this stage of the voice- technology market, so is targeting the right kind of customer. Like who? “Those who suffer limitations in time or capability, such as busy professionals, the aged or disabled, and the exceptionally tech- savvy,” says Edd Wilson, voice search expert at digital marketing company Impression. It’s also worth targeting older customers. Maplin


reported that while 35 per cent of 25 to 34-year- olds currently own a smart-home product, and that while only 12 per cent of consumers over the age of 55 do so, 63 per cent of these older (and often wealthier) consumers are considering investing this year. Mr Wilson at Impressions also thinks that


retailers should understand the needs of customers, and tailor products accordingly, adding: “Amazon Echo is more reliant on shopping, so it would be suited for those who are primarily product-based, whereas Google is better at supplying information.”


Different voices


And he makes an excellent point – not all voice assistants are equal. While Amazon’s Alexa is the most recognisable and best-known voice assistant, Google Assistant is quickly catching up. There’s also Apple to think about. Its HomePod product is due to go on sale in 2018. However, it’s worth considering the quality of the brains behind the voices. “All voice technology is biased


towards the company – Google has the entire web database and Amazon’s data is integrated with the biggest web store in the world,” says Mr Wilson. Apple will therefore likely be heavily biased towards its own services, and not be of the same breadth as its rivals.


Google has even bigger plans. “As voice search continues to grow, I estimate that Google will turn its voice search into an auction place with adverts integrated,” says Mr Wilson. “This will damage users’ trust as it starts displaying ads in voice search over unbiased information and results.” If Google is playing the long game, it’s easy to see why. “We’re seeing rapid price erosion, as Google and Amazon draw the battle lines,” says Futuresource’s Mr Bryant. “Smart speakers are moving towards the $100 sweet spot, used as loss-leaders to populate homes with what could become home retail terminals, linking consumers to a supply chain that opens the door to a range of services,” he says. “The winner of today’s smart speaker land-grab could be the owner of tomorrow’s consumer.”


Speak easy


This, of course, is all about the smart home, and who owns it. They may be talked about as smart-home ‘hubs’, but for most customers, smart-home products are isolated responses to a particular need. However, the advantages of voice control go way beyond the novelty of being able to play music hands-free. It allows faster access to


information, and is proving more socially acceptable than constantly checking a phone during conversations. “Beyond


leisure activities, like music and video search and consumption, smart speakers


Vobot Halo is a smart wake-up light with a voice-activated assistant


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