VIDEO: THERE MIGHT BE A FUTURE IN SHOPPING THROUGH SPEAKERS!

Ordering a pizza from the sofa without having to lift a finger has become a part of modern-day conveniences, thanks to the hot trend in voice-commanded smart speakers.

Amazon, Apple and Google are all fighting it out with devices designed to sit out of sight in homes, awaiting spoken commands to tend to tasks such as ordering goods, finding information, playing music, give the daily weather updates, mapping routes, or reading your e-mails to you.

Technology research firm Gartner says the market for voice-activated speakers equipped with AI and synched to the internet will grow to $3.52-billion in 2021 from $360-million in 2015.

"Shopping through speakers is still an early adopter activity," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for Creative Strategies.

"It's going to be slow. It's not going to be overnight." Thanks to bargain prices for Amazon Echo devices, in particular, smart speakers are becoming mainstream but consumers are not yet ready to fully trust the technology, Milanesi said. Voice-controlled shopping, for now, involves mainly straightforward, repeated buys such as laundry soap or dog treats, with people tending to want to actually see big-ticket items – especially if they involve style or colour choices. 

Amazon launched its first Echo device in 2014 and has already sold millions of the smart speakers. They have dominated the smart speaker industry, with 70% of the market in the US while second-place Google Home has about 24%, according to e-marketer.

Apple this year unveiled the "HomePod" speaker that is set to begin shipping in December. Not to be left behind, South Korean consumer electronics colossus, Samsung, recently announced it is working on a smart speaker.  

With such a potential out there, it is best to get your hands on a Virtual Assistant speaker while they are somewhat cheap. For interesting sake, check out the video below for a top 5 list of speakers that could make your life easier.