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"Fire tablet" - Google News - Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 6:00 PM
How a paired voice and screen experience could change the way we shop for
clothes online - GeekWire
[https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-04-at-4.28.33-PM-630x332.png](Fell
Swoop Image)
In the past 20 years we’ve seen continuous e-commerce innovation. Omnichannel
investments have blurred the line between channels with conveniences like buy
online and in-store pick up. Specialty retailers are investing in a wide range
of offerings from expert consultations to in-store classes and special events.
Mobile device proliferation has enabled us to order nearly anything from
anywhere. And subscribe and save offerings mean our cupboards never run dry.
[https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/DXU3wJ0a-300x300.jpeg]Fell ;
Swoop CEO Alex Berg.
However, despite these innovations and billions invested, the actual experience
of shopping online remains fundamentally the same. For the first ten years we
hunched over our desktops and laptops, pogo-sticking from page-to-page looking
for that elusive item. Fortunately, best practices emerged making shopping
incrementally easier over time. The websites got better, and we got more reps.
Faster connections, CDNs, and improved tech made the experience snappier. And
tighter security has made things, well, more secure.
But it’s still basically the same. The main experience shift in the past ten
years is that we’re now hunched over our phones instead, trading a larger
screen for the convenience of portability. We’re still bouncing from
page-to-page, still fumbling with the same filters to narrow our choices, and
still enduring the tedious taps of checkout.
Where are the experiential leaps forward? For years we’ve heard about the
promise of augmented reality, but it’s yet to fundamentally change how we shop.
Voice assistants work if I want to replenish a predetermined item but are
nearly impossible to shop with. Have businesses’ penchant for risk aversion
limited us to convergent thinking? Maybe we’ve optimized ourselves right smack
into the local maxima.
Where are the divergent investments that revolutionize how we shop in the same
way Netflix changed our Friday nights, or how Uber changed how we get around?
Arguably the logistics of e-commerce has seen more innovation than the consumer
experience. Robots have scaled the ability to ship goods at unprecedented
levels. AI-enhanced systems make countless recommendations and optimizations
behind the scenes. RFID tagging has improved inventory measures.
It’s time for the innovation to move from back office to front of house.
The future should be now
[https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bigstock-Shopping-online-15063386-630x371.jpg](Bigstock
Photo)
The frustrating part is that we have the ingredients. The devices are already
in our homes and the software is the cloud. What we need is a bold chef with a
fresh recipe — one that combines emerging tech in a way that leverages their
strengths in an arresting fashion.
What’s the answer? It starts, but doesn’t end, with voice-first design.
Voice-driven experiences have the potential to change shopping as we know it,
but they face some challenges. The first challenge is one of retained context.
Humans are pros at conversation – we can shift seamlessly from one topic to the
next and back, thanks to non-verbal cues, gestures, non-linear thinking, and
lots of practice.
Pair this constraint with the obvious lacking ability to visualize an option
set, and shopping by voice is just plain hard. It doesn’t cripple buying if you
know what you want, but it sure makes shopping hard when you don’t.
While startups are often hailed as industry disruptors, Amazon has the best
chance to up-end shopping as we know it. To continue with the cooking metaphor
– they not only have all the ingredients (expertise, resources, device
penetration, data, etc.), they also have the motivation. Unlocking the next
generation shopping experience could yield billions of dollars.
But shop for an item on an Alexa-enabled device and you’ll quickly experience
the limitations firsthand. Listening to a lengthy SEO-optimized item name alone
is tedious and violates one of the principles in voice-first design: brevity.
It’s a sure sign that Amazon has yet to properly leverage their platform in a
voice-friendly fashion.
However, what Alexa says next is telling. “Would you like me to send some
selections to your mobile device?” A simple notification on my phone yields the
same experience as if I typed my request in myself on my Prime app. With the
virtual hand-off complete, I’ve simply transitioned from one device to another.
As solutions go, it’s incomplete, but it does shed light on the answer to the
most glaring problem: pairing voice inputs with the screens we already have.
[https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Echo-Show-630x501.jpg]Amazon’s
Echo Show. (Amazon Photo)
Experiment with devices in the Echo lineup that come with screens such as the
Echo Show or a Fire tablet and you’ll see the future more clearly. Thanks to
Amazon’s relatively new Alexa Presentation
Language<https://developer.amazon.com/docs/alexa-presentation-language/apl-overview.html>
(APL) that connects voice inputs to screen outputs, customers can see the
promise of a “say-see” experience first-hand. Regrettably, it’s a multi-modal
promise not yet fully realized.
Customer-centric options could not only show me new choices available for
purchase, but also integrate complimentary accessory choices based on items I
own already.
My initial use case of “Amazon, show me a new sports coat” first yielded the
score of the Mariners’ season opener in Japan. After some clarification, my
sports scores were replaced with sports jackets. Rows of numbered options,
complete with a photo, were available on-screen to browse with a simple swipe.
Using the on-screen buttons, I could either make a purchase or get more
details, but my ability to refine my choices by voice was still quite
constrained. Requests to “Show me more choices like No. 1” yielded women’s
blazers instead of men’s. Other verbal requests kept returning to sports scores.
As experiences go, it was clear the more efficient path was to simply abandon
my voice commands and pick up my device in favor of touch-driven inputs.
Despite my initial disappointment, the potential is palpable. By fusing
voice-driven inputs with their proprietary screens, Amazon is experimenting
with the ingredients that have the potential to disrupt the shopping experience
as we know it. They just have a few hurdles in front of them.
The first are the limitations of APL. In its present form, APL requires that
voice-enabled experiences be created from the ground up. It’s a daunting task
for a time-starved team and one that individual retailers might not be willing
to take on. Factor in the limited audience with screen-enhanced Echo devices
and it’s a recipe for limited traction.
A better path to adoption might be in working with platform providers. Imagine
if Adobe’s Magento or Oracle’s Commerce Cloud enabled APL integration as part
of their platforms. It could open voice-driven shopping on a larger scale.
Better still, a next generation of APL could more effectively work with sites
as they are built today shedding the current constraints of APL.
Take things beyond Amazon’s proprietary screens and enable pairing with
something millions of consumers already have — the ubiquitous flat screen TV —
and you’re off to the races.
Imagine this future
[https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-04-at-4.28.55-PM-630x396.png](Fell
Swoop Image)
Say I need a new jacket for an important work event. With a simple command —
“show me some sport coats” — my Alexa-device hears my request, gathers some
AI-enabled recommendations from my shopping profile, and sends them to my
networked TV. In just five words, I’m presented with an array of options from
my preferred and likeminded brands right on the big screen. The essential hook
is making my voice assistant aware of what I’m looking at, providing it the
context on which to pivot and make voice-driven recommendations.
Instead of tapping tedious filters, my options are continuously refreshed based
on simple verbal commands. “Show me more choices like option No. 2”
(APL-enabled options are already numbered for easy recognition) or “do you have
No. 3 in a plaid?” Customer-centric options could not only show me new choices
available for purchase, but also integrate complimentary accessory choices
based on items I own already. After all, Zappos has a lock on my shoe tree and
Amazon knows all too well of my wristwatch addiction. By enabling API access, I
can tap directly into my existing closet, too.
Taken a step further, AR kit-like enhancements could be extended to the smart
TV, taking advantage of any network cameras – like my Kinect for Xbox One. With
the right integration, I could be presented with my mirror image on the big
screen, one that’s digitally enhanced with the new sport coat and shirt, my
favorite jeans, and shoes. Need the personal touch? Integration opportunities
are abound. Skype or FaceTime could let me dial a fashion-forward friend. Want
to call in a pro? A wardrobe consultant is standing by.
With a simple, “I’ll take it,” I’m presented with a confirmation on my checkout
preferences. Tiny screens and tedious keystrokes are replaced by giant screens
and verbal commands. My potential for sartorial side-steps is mitigated through
easy access to the expert eye.
While I used a fashion emergency in my scenario, the potential of paired voice
and screen experiences is tremendous. Collaborative decisions might benefit
even more. No more emailing furniture, vacation, or real estate choices back
and forth or peering over shoulders. Let’s sit in front of the big screen and
do it together. Complex decisions could be enhanced by networked sales agents
and even consultants.
Admittedly, I’ve taken some shortcuts in this fantasy thought experiment. I’m
not a technologist. But it doesn’t take one to see that with a little vision,
the future is right around the corner. I just want it now.
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/paired-voice-screen-experience-change-way-shop-clothes-online/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
