• by Chuck Martin , October 25, 2018

Voice commerce is growing along with the rise of voice-activated speakers, according to a new study by Visa and Pymnts.

Ownership of voice-activated speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, grew 88% from a year ago and of those who own them, 28% used them for purchases in the previous seven days.

The most popular categories for voice shopping by early adopters were groceries (5%) and food delivery (4%). The leading reasons to use connected devices for payments were saving time (77%) and convenience improving the quality of life (74%).

Current voice-activated speaker ownership grew from 14% in 2017 to 27% in 2018, according to the study, which comprised a survey of 2,800 U.S. adults concerning buying habits and shopping preferences.