As we wrap up the last 2 weeks of 2017, we have been considering what we are likely to see in 2018 technology. You might like to mull over this with your mulled wine and Christmas pudding (or beer and BBQ). Better still; give it some thought as you carry out new year planning.
The Top 8 things we expect to see around online technologies during 2018:
- Increased pressure on smaller online retailers. If you don’t provide a very niche product or experience, that is, if the products you are selling online have many competitors, then your customers are likely to migrate to the larger online retailers including Amazon. The winners will be those with the most products, with the more consistently lower price, providing an easy shopping experience, and fast low-cost delivery.
- Increased percentage of market share to smart phones running the Android operating system, particularly due to the uptake of Google pixel, but also lower cost Android smart phones.
- Increased automation of homes using internet-connected devices due to the major marketing push of Google Home.
- Increased integration between apps to make completing the jobs you need to get done even easier.
- Increased specialisation of apps for niche markets, again with the intention of making it super easy for people carrying out a task in a well-defined category, to achieve that task as efficiently as possible.
- Increased online shopping and therefore parcel delivery into homes; delivery costs paid by the consumer will continue to fall.
- Increased use of Apple Pay and Android Pay as more and more people use their smart phones as their payment device.
- Increased development of apps that utilise AI / machine learning, making decisions on behalf of organisations in order to more rapidly provide a personalised experience for individual app users.
Feel free to contribute your thoughts!