It’s been decades since the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” ads of the 1980s first hit the airwaves, offering seniors and others living alone a way to call for help via a small pendant worn around the neck if they were unable to get to the telephone themselves.
Fast forward forty years, and Amazon — which didn’t even exist until 1994 — is ramping up a campaign to grow ownership and usage of its voice-activated ecosystem of devices as household safety tools that can not only order food, play a song or tell you about the weather, but also save your life.
“As I was lying there on the floor, I ran through my options. My cell phone wasn’t within reach and I wasn’t sure I could move to get it,” Amazon user “Penny” recounts in the company’s new blog post. “Then I remembered Alexa. We have Echo devices all over the house,” she added, before describing how she was able to contact a neighbor to help her after taking an unexpected fall.
The Voice Commerce Market
This real-life customer testimonial and pitch for expanded awareness is no joke, and comes at a time when Amazon is promoting new ways that this technology can be used and integrated into our daily routines.
In fact, PYMNTS data show roughly one-third of U.S. consumers already have a voice-activated device or speaker in their home — 70% of which connect to Alexa — and the push to add new use cases in voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating.
Read more: Amazon Leans on Alexa to Connect With ‘All Aspects of Consumers’ Lives’
“Before this moment, we’d been using [Alexa] for the daily stuff — managing our grocery lists, playing music, controlling our lights, and checking in on my family while I’m away for work,” Penny recalled in her letter.
For its part, Amazon is not only highlighting how its listening devices were able to help a woman in her “moment of need,” but is also embarking on a broader educational effort to raise awareness of Alexa Communication features, that go beyond Emergency Contact and Calling.
In fact, the digital retailer has also created an entire social media campaign encouraging other users to share their “#AlexaStories” on Twitter, Instagram or directly with the company, and the examples are pouring in.
There’s Gabriela, who now uses voice-tech to allow her mother to translate Spanish for her young son.
There’s Joe, who video chats via Echo Show with a special needs son who moved out of the home.
There’s even a blog promoting a Valentine’s Day marriage proposal made possible by Alexa.
While the public relations value of these human-interest stories is evident, it is also serious business for Amazon which is in the process of deepening its digital ties with customers by an expanding portfolio of high-tech tools.
It’s No Joke
Whether it is new use cases for Alexa, the advent of streamed content that is shoppable, or the $8.5 Billion purchase of the MGM studios and catalog, Amazon is not standing still.
“Embedding commerce inside of streaming platforms is one of the greatest untapped opportunities inherent in the digital transformation of the global economy,” PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote Monday (March 21), noting the upcoming release of first-of-its-kind data that will benchmark the pace of this digital transformation. “Nearly everyone everywhere in the world streams video and music. Access to smartphones and fast mobile bandwidth, even in developing economies, has democratized access to the content that streaming platforms offer,” she added.
See full story: Will Amazon Make Streaming Shoppable?
In short, while Amazon controls a record 57% share of ecommerce retail sales in the U.S., it is actively working to build interconnectivity within its growing portfolio of products in order to get customers to see it as the one-stop, multifaceted solutions provider of choice. Not just in one app or room, but throughout the day and the entire house.
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