Exploring the Customer Journey of Voice Commerce: A Research Agenda

Abstract

Voice commerce creates unprecedented opportunities for consumers and vendor firms to interact, engage, and relate. With artificial intelligence-powered voice assistants, consumers can make technology-mediated purchases without using their tactile senses, which represents a new space for commercial interactions. Drawing on the customer journey as an organizing framework, this article proposes a structured research agenda, in an attempt to shed light on the bright side effects of voice commerce while also acknowledging concerns for consumer protection and society in general. Voice assistants can enhance every stage of the purchase journey, yet their use might have negative consequences for customer relationships. In the prepurchase stage, voice assistants can act as information curators or manipulators. In the purchase stage, voice assistants can adopt roles as shopping concierges or impediments. In the postpurchase and usage stage, voice assistants can become trusted relationship partners or hostile intruders in consumers’ lives.