• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, March 14, 2018

More consumers are adopting voice-activated devices and smartwatches, but not necessarily using them to their full potential.

While more than a third of online shoppers own voice-activated devices, most of them don’t use them for buying things.

Smartwatch behavior is similar. More than a third (35%) of consumers own a smartwatch, but most (66%) never browse on them and 70% never purchase through them, based on a new study.

The study comprised a survey of 4,000 global adult consumers who have shopped online within the last year. The survey was conducted by Episerver in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, the U.K. and U.S.

While 39% of consumers in those markets own voice-assisted devices like Amazon Alexa or Google Home, 60% never browse on them and only 27% make a purchase through them.

However, many consumers seem willing to give new technologies a try. For example, 30% would be interested in trying drone delivery and 34% would be interested in trying virtual or augmented reality.

Even more (47%) would be interested in smart mirrors in dressing rooms in stores, and 45% would be interested in using in-store tablets to search for products and sizes.

The migration to using smart devices for more shopping activity is likely to increase over time. The majority (71%) of U.S. shoppers plan to make more purchases this year than last. Even if the smart buying activities remained constant, the number will only increase. Just ask Alexa.