The Echo of a Trojan Horse
Leading customer-focused retail innovation
Several reports have stated that Amazon has sold 3-4 million of its Echo home digital device as of mid 2016 with other reports stating that the company expects to sell an estimated 10 million devices in the year ahead. A common theme arises from users as people commonly use the device initially for simple smart-home things like turning the lights on or off or asking what the day’s weather is going to be. Over time, as users become more comfortable speaking to Alexa (Amazon’s digital assistant), use of the digital assistant becomes increasingly woven into the day’s activities.
It is this embedding of technology into a user’s life that some experts say is Amazon’s Trojan Horse, the technology weaving its way into how a user not only interacts with the world but - increasingly - as the gateway to fulfilling needs. Amazon is in the business of selling stuff and it is using its vast logistics capabilities and vast portfolio of products to increasingly be able to provide you whatever you want whenever you want it. And you don’t even have to pick up your smartphone, just ask Alexa.
There is no doubt the market for home-based digital assistants is primed to explode as Google and Apple enter the market in the coming months. What will be fascinating to observe though is how this battle will play out; while Google and Apple certainly want to drive people into their ecosystems it is Amazon that stands to most directly benefit from the sale of ‘stuff’. Sure, you’ll be able to ask Siri or Google’s assistant to order a pizza for home delivery or to make dinner reservations, but - at least for now - Amazon’s Alexa is the only assistant that has access to the millions of products Amazon can provide, including your weekly groceries.
I’m seeing an increasing number of articles that speak to supermarket retailers moving past the ‘should I be online?’ question and focusing on how best to move online. While good that retailers are finally understanding they need to be online, far too few retailers understand that the frontline of the online battle has moved. That frontline is now taking place within the digital assistant space and is represented by Alexa, Amazon’s Dash buttons and integration of its Dash Replenishment Service into home appliances.
As we regularly call out, the pace of technology-fueled innovation is increasing and brick & mortar retailers must be focused on where technology is moving to, not where it is today. That nearly every retail sector will move online is a foregone conclusion, and more than ever this applies to groceries. But retailers must be looking at what capabilities and services they need to provide to keep pace with Amazon and the other tech giants because these are the new competitors.
No comments:
Post a Comment