Aston Barclay has employed the services of Amazon's Alexa voice recognition platform to share details of its auction programme to buyers in what it claims is a 'sector first'.

Alexa will respond to buyers each time they say ‘Alexa flash briefing’ by automatically announcing the auction activity at Chelmsford, Prees Heath, Westbury, Leeds and Donington Park over the next 24-hour period.

Aston Barclay believes the innovation is a first in the remarketing industry.

Group IT director, Stewart Ford, said: “It’s a bit of fun, but it also plays a major part in our digital technology testing before rolling out to customers.

“Voice recognition is becoming an important channel to access information in your house, your car and office and we need to be mindful of adapting our technology to enable customers to engage with us in this way.”

It works on the Alexa smart speaker and via a smart phone when the Alexa App is downloaded, making it easier for buyers to plan their days and their stock sourcing requirements.

Alexa and all the group’s new ‘connecting customers with cars’ technology will be showcased at the forthcoming Wakefield hard hat auction tours in early January, prior to the new northern mega centre opening for business.