Despite a seemingly endless stream of tech disruption over the past decade, we’ve finally reached a moment when the next big thing might be a long way away. Why? Because consumers seem to be overloaded with gadgets and aren’t finding the value in the devices they already have, says Mark Inskip*. Take smartwatches – 13% of consumers said they planned to buy one in 2016, not bad, until you consider that this figure is only up 1% on 2015.
And it’s the same for other wearables like the Fitbit, and a similar story for virtual reality tech (10% in 2015, 11% in 2016) and drones (6% in 2015, 7% in 2016).
Experts are confirming this, acknowledging that there’s unlikely to be a big spike of technology disruption coming any time soon.
“The dialogue is changing from what’s technologically possible to what’s technologically meaningful,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Technology Association.
John Curran, md of Research at Accenture believes “we’re starting to see companies shift from what’s the largest screen size or shiniest object to what devices do that’s practical in a consumer’s life”.
Consumers want technology to understand their needs, wants and moods; to help them manage their own world; to help them navigate their way through the wider world.
In terms of technology trends, context is the new black. Approached in the right way, it can turn our chaotic riot of devices into a synchronised symphony.
So, it’s important for technology companies to work to blend contexts together to answer what individual consumers need at a particular moment. For example, defining a common sense of ‘time’ to control the devices that surround us in harmony to get us through a busy morning.
To achieve this there needs to be a fundamental change in approach – a shift from simply spitting out new devices, to actually putting the consumer’s needs first through introducing common languages, open standards, shared APIs, universal connections, modular designs, expandable platforms and more.
The issue for technology brands is not about wowing us with more innovations, but in gaining more insight from consumers in order to keep ahead of the competition. To make the most of the benefits smartphones and other mobile devices bring, permanently connected to all the information in the world, people have changed how they behave. And businesses need to catch up.
*Mark Inskip is Global CEO of The Futures Company
Originally posted Brand-e 24 March 2016