Voice technology is revolutionizing the way consumers shop, with a significant portion of the global population embracing this modern convenience, as young consumers lead the charge.
The 2024 PYMNTS Intelligence report, “How the World Does Digital,” surveyed more than 67,000 consumers from 11 countries representing around 50% of the global GDP, examining their digital behaviors in multiple facets of daily life.
The study reveals that 17.9% of the overall population utilizes voice technology for shopping at least once a week. However, a closer look at the generational breakdown reveals a stark contrast in adoption rates.
Generation Z leads the charge with 30.4% of its members engaging in voice shopping weekly. This tech-savvy group, known for its fluency with digital devices and preference for seamless experiences, is setting the pace for future consumer behavior.
Millennials, not far behind, show a 27.6% weekly usage rate of voice shopping. As digital natives who came of age during the rise of the internet and smartphones, millennials have integrated voice technology into their busy lives, leveraging its convenience to streamline tasks.
For Generation X, the adoption rate drops significantly to 14.9%. This generation, which straddles the divide between the pre-digital and digital eras, shows a more cautious approach to new technology. While many have embraced digital tools, their use of voice technology lags behind the younger generations.
The gap widens further with baby boomers, of whom only 6.8% use voice technology for shopping weekly. This generation, often characterized by its slower adoption of new technologies, appears less inclined to shift from traditional shopping methods to voice-activated commands.
Indeed, voice commerce is gaining ground. In a conversation with PYMNTS published in March, Christian Mentz, CRO at Cerence, shared that with the contextual awareness and natural language processing (NLP) of the latest artificial intelligence models, voice functionality has transformed from a “task master” service, simply surfacing information, to a more intuitive, human-like experience.
Take, for instance, the restaurant industry. Jamie Richardson, vice president of marketing and public relations at White Castle, said in an interview with PYMNTS that he anticipates a surge in voice automation in restaurants this year.
“[In 2024], I think [we’ll see] rapid advance, I think increasing consumer acceptance, and advances in the quality of experience for both team members … as well as customers,” Richardson said. “If there’s an accelerator principle at play that any of us ever hypothesize, now it’s truer than ever.”
