Argos unveils 'voice assisted shopping' with Google Home

Catalogue retailer, Argos has launched a ‘voice shopping’ service using a Google Home smart speaker.

This is the first time in which the retailer is offering a shopping service using the Google Assistant platform, and will allow customers to reserve products in a local store.

Facing the pressures of online shopping from its competitors - and with Amazon and its own voice-controlled Echo speakers - Argos is evidently looking at new tactics to improve customer service and how people shop its products.

Argos’ chief executive, John Rogers, commented: “This launch is step one and I don’t expect to turn on the app and suddenly double our sales. But I expect people will use it and experiment with it - and if we can make it a seamless process, you can see why people would want to use it.”

After enabling the Argos service, people will be able to ask the Google Home smart speaker to check product availability and reserve items.

Shoppers will still need to browse the catalogue or retailer’s website to find the product they want, although the service will work via Google Assistant on smartphones.

Argos is owned by supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s, which is also facing competition from Amazon as it expands its grocery delivery service.

Mr Rogers said Argos sold thousands of devices powered by Amazon’s Alexa voice technology, but the retailer does not have a voice app on the Alexa platform.