First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Now it’s “Voice Shopping Weekend.”
Amazon has come up with a new holiday shopping event, aiming to get more people accustomed to buying things with their voice using the company’s Alexa virtual assistant. Voice Shopping Weekend, which starts tonight and runs through Nov. 21, offers exclusive deals to Amazon Prime members who use their voices to order designated items on Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot and Tap smart speakers, Fire HD tablet and Fire TV.
Users will be able to ask, “Alexa, what are your deals?” to have Alexa read a list out loud, or they can check the Alexa Deals website. Amazon says special prices on specific items will be available “at select times between November 18 and November 21 while supplies last.”
The company says it will also offer Alexa-exclusive deals “on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and every day in November and December.” So it isn’t so much Voice Shopping Weekend as it is “Voice Shopping Season,” apparently
The list of voice-exclusive deals includes classic doorbusters like TVs, headphones and cookware sets, in addition to high-tech toys. Here’s an initial list of deals as provided by the company, along with the associated voice commands.
- Save $50 on an Amazon Tap – say, “Alexa, order an Amazon Tap”
- Save $80 on a 32-inch Samsung 1080p LED TV – say, “Alexa, order a Samsung TV”
- Save $30 on a Sphero Star Wars BB-8 App controlled robot – say, “Alexa, order a Star Wars robot”
- Save $15 on a Philips Hue LED Starter Kit with 2 Bulbs & Hue Bridge Hub – works with Amazon Alexa – say, “Alexa, order a Hue Starter Kit”
- Save $80 on Beyerdynamic Limited Edition Headphones – say, “Alexa, order studio headphones”
- Save $130 on a 10-piece All-Clad stainless steel cookware set – say, “Alexa, order an All-Clad cookware set”
- Save $10 on LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box – say, “Alexa, order a Lego Classic Brick Box.”
- Save 30% on a 48-pack of Amazon Basics AA batteries – say, “Alexa, order AA batteries”
- Save 35% on Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles – say, “Alexa, order Lindor truffles”
Amazon has been called the “accidental” early winner in the voice-controlled home, leading Google, Apple and others with surprisingly strong sales of Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to the native functionality of Alexa, third-party developers have built more than 3,000 Alexa “skills,” extending the voice-enabled assistant’s capabilities for everything from checking the ferry schedule to tracking a phone or calling for a ride.
The bigger push into voice shopping takes Alexa back to Amazon’s e-commerce roots. Separate from the special deals, the company says tens of millions of items are available to be ordered by voice on Alexa. In addition to being Prime members, users need to have one-click shopping enabled to buy items via voice.
