Contrary to popular belief, consumer trends aren't just for marketers. Especially today, when people's desires are largely related to technology and digital products. So what do consumers want this year? And what technology products are reflecting these trends?
1. Outsourcing solutions
Artificial intelligence is getting closer to everyday reality. And, in particular, to that part of it, which concerns shopping. It all started with the usual automation of regular purchases. Amazon came up with Dash buttons - smart buttons that can be placed, for example, on a washing machine. And when you run out of powder, just press the button to bring you the next package. The idea of saving time has proven so popular that millions of people are already using this method to automatically replenish their stocks at the touch of a button.
Also, millions of people use services like Digit , which allow them to outsource at least part of their financial decisions to digital technologies. In this case, we are talking about replenishing the savings account with small amounts whenever the algorithm considers it appropriate. So a person accumulates money without noticing it. There are more and more such services that use elements of artificial intelligence and help people make decisions. For example, the online travel community WeSwapin the fall of 2017, it offered people a forecasting service - how much they will spend on a trip. Using the data of other community members who have already been in a particular city, the system makes an assessment. Over time, as the system learns and data accumulates, the forecasts will become more accurate.
2. Virtual companion
“Siri, where is the nearest restaurant around here?” You can ask your phone. But it is unlikely that you want to have a philosophical conversation with him. Although… Tech company Gartner predicts that in 2020, the average person will interact more with bots than with their spouse. And to a smaller number of people, such predictions seem fantastic. Moreover, we are already waiting for this future. Soon, virtual assistants will entertain us, educate, diagnose and offer treatment. Perhaps they will become our friends.
This is also evidenced by the news that Apple is looking for employees with a psychological education - so that Siri learns to have deep dialogues with its users. Why do we need virtual companions? If only because social networks often lead to a feeling of isolation. A recent study showed that people aged 19 to 32 who spend more than two hours a day on social networks are three times more likely to feel isolated from society than those who “hang” there for less than 30 minutes. in a day. Mark Zuckerberg has also realized the magnitude of the problem, as evidenced by his recent statement. Virtual companions can help people overcome feelings of isolation and loneliness, at least temporarily. Communicating with artificial intelligence, we do not compare ourselves with a picture of someone's ideal life, we can be ourselves. Probably, the creators of the Replika chatbot reasoned this way . This AI representative is designed to become a reflection of the personality of the person who communicates with him. The bot studies the user, asks him questions about goals, values, and much more. And gradually becomes like you. And the Japanese establishment Blue Leaf Cafe, together with the telecom business KDDI , invited visitors to eat in the company of virtual pop star Hatsune Miku . For this, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro smartphones were installed on the tables., and thanks to augmented reality, people were able to get a new experience.
3. Help grow up
“A 32-year-old boy” is a typical portrait of our contemporary. And not only in the expanses of the former USSR. Around the world, growing up is becoming more and more difficult. And there are many reasons for that. Say, expensive housing prices, unemployment, demographic distortions. All this leads to the fact that the threshold for entering “adulthood” (buying a house, career, children, etc.) is getting higher. The statistics are relentless: 15% of young Americans aged 25 to 35 live with their parents - and in 2000 there were 10%. And this is in the USA, with their cult of separate living! In Shanghai, 20% of men aged 28-37 are single, up from 12% in 2005.
Sharing economy, co-working spaces, products "to order" - society's answer to the problem of growing up. If you can't afford to buy a car, you can rent it when you really need it. If you can’t buy a big house, you can borrow on one of the peer-to-peer financing platforms . Technology is coming to the fore in providing young people with what they need for a comfortable life. Therefore, in 2018 we will see the continued flourishing of various sharing platforms, as well as the emergence of new services and products. For example, such as kitchen device Tasty One Top . It allows you to save time on cooking (just what we need!). Tasty One Top creators - BuzzFeed and GE. It looks like an induction hob, but it has a lot of functions and is controlled through the Tasty mobile app . It syncs with BuzzFeed video recipes and automatically adjusts your device's temperature and other settings at different stages of cooking.
4. Change selection
Do you really need to keep track of the desires and needs of your customers? After all, they change so quickly that sometimes you do not have time to react. However, there is no other way - consumers expect companies and products to keep up with changes in their moods. Better yet, help them reconsider a decision they made in the past. One example is a service that was offered by the British financial company Curve in cooperation with Mastercard in the summer of 2017 . Customers can change the card with which payment is made for an already completed purchase. You can do this within two weeks after the transaction.
The better a product adapts to changing conditions and people's needs, the higher its chances of long-term success. An example here can be taken from Tesla . During Hurricane Irma, the company sent free software to its endangered customers to increase battery capacity from 60 kWh to 75 kWh. This meant an increase in the distance that the car travels by about 64 km. It is important to note that Tesla did not take advantage of this situation to earn additional money, although it could: it usually sells such software for $4.5-$9 thousand.
5. Total Blockchain
This trend originated in the East, and there it finds more and more new applications. And we can only keep up with it. Blockchain is not only cryptocurrencies, although they are significantly changing our world. First of all, blockchain is a symbol of the loss of people's trust in centralized institutions, in the state and big business. This thesis is well illustrated by the following data: 73% of the Chinese believe that corruption in their country is becoming stronger (it reminds me of something). Whom to trust in such conditions? Apparently, to each other, or to no one - that is, decentralized systems. Blockchain technology has a great future, and not only in the field of finance. Business is gradually moving in the same direction. For example, the giant of e-commerce - the Chinese company JD.com– plans to use blockchain in frozen meat sales. Once you buy a package of this product, you can scan the QR code on it and trace it all the way from the manufacturer to the seller. The jewelry company Chow Tai Fook acted in the same way in order to protect its customers from purchasing low-quality diamonds.
And in November 2017, Carbon Conservation announced a partnership with technology platform Dappbase . Together they will fight forest fires in Indonesia with the help of blockchain. According to its principles, funding will be distributed among the villages that have reduced the number of fires. In 2018, we will see many more examples of the use of blockchain for a wide variety of purposes. And maybe we will implement some of them. Trend source: http://trendwatching.com
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