7-Eleven Supports Voice Orders Via Alexa, Google Home

7-Eleven has launched voice ordering with 7Voice, which allows customers to place orders through Google Home and Amazon Echo systems, the company said in a press release on Wednesday (Nov. 20).

The voice activation works in conjunction with the company’s 7NOW app, delivering purchased items in about 30 minutes or less.

“7Voice takes 7NOW ordering from screen to voice, enabling customers to order in whatever way they prefer that is most convenient to them,” said Raghu Mahadevan, 7-Eleven’s vice president of the digital customer experience.

The 7NOW app finds a customer’s location automatically and places the order at the nearest participating 7-Eleven location. Using real-time tracking, customers can find out when to expect their orders to arrive. The 24/7 service has no minimum order requirement, and the first delivery is free. After that, the regular delivery fee is $3.99.

“We are constantly researching and developing ways to take both in-store and at-home retail experiences to the next level,” Mahadevan said.

The company started testing the 7NOW delivery service at select stores in Dallas two years ago. Since then, over one million deliveries have been made. The service is now available in over 200 cities, serving more than 30 million households.

In the last two years, 7-Eleven has launched the 7NOW delivery app and added the 7NOW Pins option to enable deliveries to hundreds of public places. The company also expanded its 7Rewards loyalty program to a points-based system and launched mobile checkout in some locations, with expanded payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

Based in Irving, Texas, 7‑Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 69,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. In March, 7-Eleven launched a “lab store” in Dallas, allowing customers to test out and purchase the retailer’s newest innovations. The location has technology that lets shoppers use their phones for payments.