Yahoo News 
Amazon launches Echo Look (AMZN)
BI Intelligence
This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "E-Commerce Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.
Amazon is unveiling a new Echo device, called Echo Look, with a camera that lets users snap pictures using voice commands, The Verge reports. Users can upload pictures to a “lookbook” on the device's app, which includes a Style Check feature that can review and rate two outfits using AI and fashion specialists.
Echo Look is an expansion of the current Echo device and will have all the same features and skills. Amazon has struggled so far to sell merchandise through its previous Echo devices, even though purchasing physical goods is one of the most common uses for voice payments, according to proprietary survey data from BI Intelligence.
The Echo Look will also provide customers with product recommendations based on their lookbooks, which could help Amazon increase its sales from Echo devices and build on its lead in online apparel. The retailer still faces challenges in the market for apparel, as many customers like to try on clothes before purchasing. Receiving product recommendations based on their own tastes may make customers more confident in purchasing clothes online. Additionally, Amazon may eventually be able to integrate augmented reality (AR) into the Style Check feature, allowing users to virtually try on their recommended products.
The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) offers payments companies an opportunity to expand beyond mobile phones, cards, and point-of-sale devices, to a broad and diverse ecosystem of internet-connected devices.
We forecast that there will be 24 billion connected devices installed globally by 2020, up from nearly 7 billion today. And over 5 billion will be consumer connected devices by 2020, representing a massive expansion of touchpoints that could eventually offer payments functionality.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report that dives into the budding industry of connected device payments, providing a rundown of the stakeholders driving innovation in wearables, connected cars, and connected home devices. It also gauges the impact of new payment devices on different payments companies, along with how these devices could shift consumer purchasing behavior.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
The Internet of Things is ushering in a new era for payments companies and manufacturers. The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) offers an opportunity to facilitate payments beyond mobile phones, cards, and point-of-sale terminals, on a broad and diverse ecosystem of internet-connected devices.
More transactions could eventually pass through connected devices than smartphones. We estimate there will be 24 billion of these devices by 2020, with 5 billion of them being consumer-facing. This represents a massive expansion of touchpoints where payments could be enabled.
Card networks have developed a basic framework to enable commerce in everyday devices. Visa and MasterCard are creating the underlying infrastructure to support the standardization of payments integration and stake themselves out as the key connected payments gatekeepers. Their payment platforms are universal, allowing digital payments to grow without being tied to the success of a particular manufacturer.
Consumer-facing IoT companies have much to gain from enabling payments in their devices, including improving the value of the device, being able to cross-sell products through the device, and laying the groundwork for future opportunities to earn incremental revenue. For payments companies, connected payments offer a new revenue stream and an opportunity to gain market share ahead of competitors.
Wearables, connected cars, and smart home devices will be the top connected payments product categories.
In full, the report:
Frames the opportunity for embedding commerce capabilities in new devices.
Explains how a device becomes commerce-enabled.
Discusses the potential for payment-enabled wearables, connected cars, and smart home devices.
Examines the impact of connected payments on key stakeholders.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of connected device payments.
See Also:
