10.12.2025

More and more people use voice assistants in their daily lives, whether for searching for information, scheduling appointments, or for entertainment. But shopping via voice command is also becoming increasingly important. Voice commerce gives consumers the opportunity to search for and order products using voice commands – comfortably, hands-free, and often personalized.

What is voice commerce and how does it work?

A woman with a shopping basket in a supermarket uses her smartphone with voice commands to assist her shopping.

© Adobe Express
Voice commands are becoming a natural part of the shopping experience.

Voice commerce allows consumers to search for products, compare them, and order them directly using voice commands. This happens from the first search command all the way to payment processing through AI-powered assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant.

The technology behind this includes automatic speech recognition (ASR), natural language understanding (NLU), and text-to-speech (TTS). Unlike traditional voice search, voice commerce covers the entire purchasing process, not just information search. This is especially relevant for routine purchases such as household products or reorders.

Which devices are used for this?

Smartphones are the leading channel, used by 89 % of consumers. Smart speakers, wearables, vehicles, and IoT devices are becoming increasingly important, as they enable hands-free shopping in different everyday situations.

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International distribution and market development

The global voice commerce market reached over 151 billion USD in 2025, with high adoption in the USA (~30 billion USD in 2024) and growing importance in the Asia-Pacific region. While these markets are already well developed, Europe is increasingly catching up. In Germany, a share of around 30 % of e-commerce sales is forecast by 2030. Key drivers are smartphone penetration, advanced infrastructure, and the integration of voice functions into super apps.

Consumer usage and technical development

One in five people has shopped at least once using voice commands. In Germany, 11 % of people use voice assistants for shopping on a weekly basis. Usage is increasing with personalized recommendations and conversational AI (e.g., GPT-based assistants). In the USA, companies like Walmart and Target already offer voice shopping via Google Assistant.

Barriers and challenges

Data Privacy & Acceptance: Concerns that voice inputs could be misused.
Technical Integration: Optimal integration of voice systems into stores, consistent data formats, smooth display of product information, prices, and shopping carts.
Regulatory Requirements: GDPR-compliant encryption, transparent opt-in mechanisms.

Recommendations for retailers and companies

To make voice commerce successful, stores and product pages should:

Support voice assistants (Alexa Skills, Google Actions),
Provide structured product data (Schema.org),
Offer optimized, short, and speakable product descriptions,
Make checkout and ordering processes voice-compatible, and
Implement clear navigation structures and conversational workflows.

Business practice and experiences

A small, round smart speaker sits on a desk between a keyboard, mouse, and an open spiral notebook with a pencil.

In the USA, companies like Walmart, Target, and Sephora actively use voice commerce. At Sephora, the average order value via voice assistants is reportedly 35 percent higher. In Germany, on the other hand, voice orders at brand manufacturers are currently hardly common. According to studies, there are only isolated Alexa Skills from FMCG brands such as Nestlé. Other brands like L’Oréal had comparable projects that have since been discontinued.

Voice commerce thus offers new revenue potential and opens up the opportunity for retailers to reach customers through innovative, voice-controlled channels. At the same time, the successful use requires careful attention to data privacy, seamless technical integration into existing shop and service infrastructures, and the design of user-friendly and intuitive voice experiences.

Sources: Cloudflight.io, Pixupmedia, Sunzinet-Blog , it-finanzmagazin.de, Maresmedia.se, Latori.com

Portrait of Maximilian Kohl, a young man with curly brown hair, round glasses, and a slight smile, in front of a neutral, light background; copyright: Maximilian Kohl

Author: Maximilian Kohl | EuroShop.mag

As part of the EuroShop editorial team, Maximilian Kohl combines in-depth media and marketing expertise with a keen eye for technologies and topics that are shaping the retail world. His experience in digital content and international storytelling shapes his editorial contributions and his keen sense for trends.