Somewhat at a tipping point, confluence of technology and digital innovation is about to converge forever changing the way we engage and experience the reengineering of the global market place. Gartner its top prediction for 2017 and beyond has revealed pertinent changes we can expect to see in the near future, from the notion of digital disruption which is regarded as an infrequent inconvenience is now a consistent stream of change that is redefining markets and entire industries said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president, chief of research and Gartner Fellow. “Last year, we said digital changes were coming fast. This year the acceleration continues and may cause secondary effects that have wide-ranging impact on people and technology.”
Virtual Shopping
The popularity of augmented reality (AR) applications, such as Pokémon GO, will help bring AR into the mainstream, prompting more retailers to incorporate it into the shopping experience. As mobile device usage becomes an ingrained behavior, further blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds, brands and their retail partners will need to develop mechanisms to leverage this behavior to enhance the shopping experience.
Web Browsing Without a Screen.
By 2020, 30% of web browsing will be done without screens, new audio-centric technologies, such as Google Home and Amazon’s Echo, are making access to dialogue-based information ubiquitous and spawning new platforms based on “voice-first” interactions. By eliminating the need to use ones’ hands and eyes for browsing, vocal interactions extend the utility of web sessions to contexts such as driving, cooking, walking, socializing, exercising and operating machinery. As a result, the share of waking hours devoid of instant access to online resources will approach zero.
Brands Will Abandon their Mobile Apps.
By 2019, 20% of many will abandon their mobile apps as most brands are finding that the level of adoption, customer engagement and return on investment (ROI) delivered by their mobile applications are significantly less than the expectations that underpinned their app investment. New approaches are emerging that have a lower barrier to discovery and install, and offer levels of engagement that approach those of applications at a fraction of the investment, support and marketing cost.
Healthy Workforce
Changes will also take place in the workforce with algorithms which will positively alter the behavior of more than 1 billion global workers global workers. By 2021, 20% of all activities an individual engages in will involve at least one the top-seven digital giants, like Facebook, Google, Alibaba, TenCent, Amazon, Apple and Baidu. Internet of Things will increase data center storage demand by less than 3 percent and by 2022, IoT will save consumers and businesses $1 trillion a year in maintenance, services and consumables. Gartner predicts by 2020, 40% of employees can cut their healthcare costs by wearing a fitness tracker.
