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Amazon Voice Search Attracts Older Shoppers, Younger Consumers Prefer Mobile Phones

Amazon still has not captured mobile users. Some 67% of survey participants prefer to shop on a desktop computer or laptop, according to survey results released Wednesday.

This trend is influenced by age. Some 23% of consumers participating in CPC Strategy’s survey between the ages of 25 and 34 prefer to search and shop on a mobile phone. They also like to search and shop on Amazon Echo or Dot, at 27%.

Surprisingly, among survey participants, 36% between the ages of 55 and 64 prefer to use Amazon Echo or Dot to search and shop. This age group holds the highest percentage in voice search and purchases. Perhaps it’s the closest to saying exactly what they want and getting it without typing or fumbling with a phone. A small percentage -- 7% -- like to shop on mobile phones, but 23% are willing to shop from desktops and laptops and 24% like to shop from tablets.

CPC Strategy on Wednesday released its 2018 Amazon Shopper Survey examining the responses of 1,500 Amazon shoppers about their shopping habits on the marketplace. Questions included how often they use Amazon to discover new brands and products, concerns about counterfeiting, and what the biggest factor is when making a purchase.

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Nearly 80% of shoppers use Amazon to search and find new products and brands either sometimes or frequently -- up from 50% in 2017, according to survey results released Wednesday. Two strategies Amazon launched in the past year include getting the buy in from established brands like Nike, and launching more of its own private labels.

Among Amazon shoppers, 53.4% feel more comfortable buying an unfamiliar brand through the marketplace because they have confidence in a smooth return policy if they are not satisfied.

While they have more confidence in Amazon, consumers are not so sure about the sale of potential counterfeit products sold on the site. When asked whether they are concerned about searching for products and ending up with counterfeit merchandise on Amazon, 14.4% said yes, 56.9% said maybe, and 28.7% said no.

In July 2016, Birkenstock departed from Amazon in the U.S. after counterfeit products and unauthorized selling by third-party merchants surfaced on the marketplace.

This past Black Friday proved the best to date for Amazon. About 50% of Amazon shoppers either bought or searched on the marketplace during that weekend. About 66.6% in 2016 said they didn’t make any purchase. The CPC Strategy survey cites similar results when asking Amazon shoppers about Prime Day, with about 45% either searching or buying on Prime Day.

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