Digital trends in 2021 included data privacy, audio content formats, advanced design personalisation, a return to human values and corporate culture (real culture not just the regurgitated HR handbook) and even the humble QR code made a big return to form.
So, what are going to be the big digital themes that we will be talking about in 2022? Fortunately for us, much of this is built around the continued merger between digital and physical, and creating connected experiences with consumers...Everything Connected!
1) The Metaverse and Web 3.0
The Metaverse is an extensive online world in which people are able to interact via digital avatars. It is a hypothesised 3D environment, through personal computing, smartphones, and virtual augmented reality headsets, combining both virtual and physical spaces. It also implements social media elements such as avatar identity, and content creation. Meanwhile, Web 3.0, also known as the decentralised web, is the latest generation of internet applications and services, powered by distributed ledger technology, the most common being blockchains. It focuses on connecting data in a decentralised way, rather than having it stored centrally, with computers able to interpret information intelligently.
5G capabilities will become the norm for mobile phones and other devices at all price points, rather than being confined to premium and flagship products. This will mean higher definition and higher bandwidth video services will start to become available, including 8K streaming as well as cloud gaming and VR. The result? Devices will become smaller and lighter as there’s no need for bulky processors and graphics chips, with all the calculations being done remotely and the output simply streamed to consumer devices as a video feed.
The trend for all things domestic to become increasingly “smart” and capable of communicating and connecting with each other in more useful ways will continue throughout the next year. In fact, analysts at Gartner have predicted that the average home could contain more than 500 smart devices during 2022. This year should finally see the launch of 'Matter', the “smart home OS” created in collaboration by Apple, Google, and Amazon, which aims to create a standard operating environment for connected devices in the home.
Ok so no new news there. Core technologies like AI and data analytics will still dominate headlines in 2022. Let’s leave the robots and Skynet world domination alone and talk about real and practical smart computer learning and predictive modelling. AI is no longer a “Future” trend. It’s very much a part of our everyday lives. Impacting what we see on social media to movies recommended on Netflix or products that are suggested when we are shopping on Amazon. As computing power continues to be more affordable and the cloud enables access to this computing power as well as software and frameworks, more and more companies will be able to benefit from AI.
5) Data driven customer experience
Again, I perhaps haven’t landed a newsflash moment but this will, and arguably should always, be a key talking point. When the onset of the virus forced the world into lockdown, businesses looked for new ways to reach their customers. Social media, ecommerce, and other digital marketing channels became the champions of staying connected during the pandemic. However, it quickly became clear that the mere availability of new channels was not enough. Customers wanted the same kind of personalised experiences they were used to in face-to-face interactions, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Customers effectively want the same experience when interacting with a business whether they choose to do so online or in person. To meet this demand, organisations should have a clearly defined omni-channel strategy and a consolidated, streamlined view of their customer data.
Perfect is the enemy of good! Forced into rapid transformation businesses have needed to adopt a more agile approach to their digital journeys. Agile development is a principle that has long been adhered to in the software industry. It is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a "big bang" launch, an agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments. These agile principles can be applied to many areas of digital and business transformation in an iterative cycle of design, implementation and test and review.
Consumer habits are changing. Audiences are evolving. Video content is being viewed anytime, anywhere. To keep pace, brands and marketers must rethink and adapt their creative strategy accordingly. The world of shopping has changed. Global ecommerce sales grew by nearly 30% last year and new ways have emerged to make online content more “shoppable”. People can now buy products directly from social posts when tuning into their TV shows and while watching YouTube on connected TVs. Google has even published the ABCD framework for effective stoppable creative production.
Another example of the further merger between the physical and digital world and the value and ownership debate around digital things. In 2022 we will start to see NFTs impacting consumer products in a big way. Consumer brands including Sony, Asics, Nike and Coca-Cola have moved into the NFT space, and we can expect to see digital goods and services designed to complement and augment physical consumer products. “Non-fungible” more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. For example, a bitcoin is fungible — trade one for another bitcoin, and you’ll have exactly the same thing. At a very high level, most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin or dogecoin, but its blockchain also supports these NFTs, which store extra information that makes them unique. It is worth noting that other blockchains can implement their own versions of NFTs.
Engaging with digital content and services online traditionally involves stimulation of two of our senses – sight and hearing. Moving forward, both manufacturers and content providers will look to engage us through touch, taste, and smell to create truly immersive consumer experiences. Much of this will take place in virtual reality environments (VR), where new devices will let us smell and feel experiences, meaning that they will seem increasingly “real” and interactive.
82% of consumers say that sustainability is more top of mind now than it was before COVID-19. But What is Digital Sustainability? Our current landscape is both exciting and daunting. On the one hand, the rise of digital technology has opened up our world. However, we’re also facing a severely damaged environment. If our society doesn’t make urgent, meaningful change now, we are facing catastrophic irreversible effects of climate change. There is a point at which these two aspects of our contemporary world meet. Digital sustainability is becoming a discussion point in business spheres. In essence, it is about exploring how the tools of our digital age can be designed, adapted, and directed toward addressing local and global sustainability targets.
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