Top 15 Trends for 2015
from Forbes Zine 12/17/14 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz
Good Track Record. Every year, my team of futurists at a top Tech & Market Reseach company, puts their heads together to come up with the top trends for the upcoming year. Last year, the team did particularly well with its top 14 trends for 2014. In particular, the team’s predictions on 3-D, Virtual currency, online Retailing, Big Data, Augmented reality, Wearable devices & Health-centric digital devices, These areas saw giant market introductions & announcements. Many companies launched 3-D printers, which can be ordered easily online; Alibaba shook the world with its Mega IPO; Big Data analytics & Apps have been introduced to improve our everyday lives, and most governments & corporates have finally understood the potential of Big Data; Apple introduced its first Wearable device; and we saw the rise of Fitness arm bands.
The top 15 Trends below summarize our predictions for 2015. Interestingly, there are a few common threads between them: Information & Communications technology continues to be an enabler for new products, solutions & models. Societal trends of millennials, women empowerment & peer-to-peer business models will play a key role in our personal lives but also in the corporate world.
1. Millennial. As the number of graduates increase each year, we expect to see an influx of millennial founders & leaders in the coming year, competing with the likes of Pinterest, Airbnb, Facebook & Instagram, to name a few. Watch out for more horizontal leadership, collaborative & working techniques.
2. Cities go Commercial & Smart. As urbanization increases in scale & volume, cities will begin to compete for foreign investment, tourism and trade. In this quest for competition, cities will increasingly look for business models that generate additional revenue streams including adopting extensive city branding exercises & incorporating smart projects into the city eco-system.
3. Peak of Physical Currency 2015 could be the year of peak money in some Western countries. Virtual payments such as Mobile Payment Solutions and other Digital Wallets will see the decline of hard cash and challenge the credit card market as well. Mobile payments will see growing importance in B2C, but also B2B payments, with international B2B platforms emerging for cross border payments.
4. Hyper-Connected Consumer. Multiple-connected devices would allow customers to be less than an arms reach of any virtual information that they need. Online shopping channels, Digital advertising, Mobile channels, & other e-Marketing will be highly leveraged in the coming year.
5. Transparency is the New Green. Increasingly, pervasive analytics & collaborative platforms would make data & processes more transparent than ever before. Govts, corps, org, communities, supply chains and even individuals will be more accountable and liable for policies, decisions & strategies.
6. Targeted & Personalized Advertising. The onslaught of smart TVs, Connected devices & Big Data analytics will allow advertisers to deliver targeted advertising dynamically into broadcast programming & the retail environment. In this way, advertising becomes specific to each viewer/customer. In show rooms, custom features such as personalized screens & music will give a truly customized & personalized experience.
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