Chinese shoppers tried voice shopping on 11.11

Millions of Chinese shoppers tried something different this year during the 24-hour online 11.11 shopping spree: shopping by voice.

Over 1 million orders were placed and paid through voice command via Tmall Genie, the smart speaker by Alibaba AI Labs during 11.11, Alibaba’s global shopping festival on November 11. Items purchased included 810,000 eggs, 1.4 million tons of rice and 76 tons of liquid detergent, a sign that Chinese consumers are happy to shop for everyday items online.

According to statistics from Alibaba, over 40% of Tmall Genie users are familiar with smart speakers and have tried voice shopping. Alibaba’s intelligent speech assistant, Tmall Genie, is ranked as the No. 1 brand in terms of sales volume of smart speakers in the first three quarters of the year for China, according to Euromonitor International’s research conducted in October 2019.

“As the number one smart speaker in China, Tmall Genie has become an essential part of many families’ daily life,” said Miffy Chen, GM, Alibaba AI Labs.

“As we continue to enhance the product features and increase the offering of infotainment services – from entertainment and news to children’s books, food delivery and elderly care, we hope the use of a virtual assistant will help people across age groups to embrace a digital life that is simple, fun, informed and connected.”

Some 10.47 million Tmall Genie units were sold during the first three quarters of this year, accounting for a 38% market share in China, which saw the total sales of smart speakers reaching approximately 27.56 million units in the same period, according to Euromonitor International. According to Alibaba, over 3 million Tmall Genie units sold in Q319, making it the most popular smart speaker brand in China for three consecutive quarters.

“Since the launch of the first smart speaker in China in July 2017, Alibaba has made Tmall Genie the top brand with the largest sales volume in China in 2019. That is largely due to Tmall Genie’s product differentiation strategy and its expanding sales channels both online and offline,” Euromonitor International noted in the research.

According to the research firm, Alibaba, Xiaomi and Baidu are the top three smart speaker brands in China, with a total market share of 93% in terms of sales volume in the first three quarters of 2019. In addition, 77% of smart speakers were purchased online over this period, dominated by Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms - Tmall and Taobao.

The research also pointed out that as an important medium for human-machine interaction, smart speakers are expected to be equipped with a growing number of features tailored to consumers’ daily needs, including search and information queries. A smart speaker with a screen - which can offer both speech and visual interaction - is also believed to be a forthcoming trend among major brands, Euromonitor noted.

Alibaba’s statistics shows that currently, Tmall Genie has been connected to over 235 million home appliances such as lights and air-conditioners from 900 brands in China. Alibaba believes that voice assistants are expected to play an increasingly important role in a wide spectrum of applications , including in-car infotainment experience, food delivery, beauty and makeup, childrens’ education and elderly nursing support.