These are the Friday “High Five” stories in the digital product innovation space during the week of 3/6/2016 to 3/11/2016 we noticed were trending.
1)Record Spending on the Virtual Reality Experience
Virtual Reality is an increasingly important opportunity for businesses and consumers alike. Businesses can jump in with their own products or partner with existing ones. The virtual reality experience has become so popular that it has broken spending records.
Business Insider produced a report on this record spending. In it, the statistics don’t lie:
- By 2020, BI predicts a 99% compound annual growth rate from last year.
- With 1.2 billion gamers globally, VR is expected to have a high adoption rate.
- While VR shipments make an estimated $37 million market this year, BI expects it to grow to $2.8 billion by 2020.
As you can see, virtual reality has huge potential. It’s an opportunity for developers and also businesses as a whole. Why? VR is expected to grow beyond just gaming. It could develop shopping capabilities, for example.
Find the full Business Insider report to read more predictions and facts about virtual reality developments.
2)Advancements in Smart Technology
BMW is taking the smart car competition to a whole new level with their recent teaser. On March 7th, they announced their new car model: the BMW Vision Next 100.
Smart car features are not a new development for BMW. They’ve experimented with partial automation on their BMW 7 series, providing steering assistance and lane change warnings.
In their recent announcement, BMW hinted at an artificial intelligence program, dubbed “Companion,” which would help make routine tasks easier for the driver.
Read more about BMW’s new technology in this PC Magazine article.
3)Advancements in Mobile Payments Technology
If you’re just getting started with developing a business out of mobile payments, you’re falling behind. Paying with your phone is becoming an increasingly popular way to get through the payment process faster. However, some leading businesses are already considering how consumers can buy with other technologies.
During the Mobile World Congress, many developers featured alternatives to mobile payments, such as paying with a refrigerator or even one’s face.
As an example, if you’re in the food retail industry, you could reap many rewards for participating in refrigerator payments. Samsung introduced their smart fridge recently, which lets users order groceries right in the comfort of their kitchen.
Mobile payments still have their drawbacks as consumers are hesitant to adopt the new methods. It’s a slow-growing industry. However, with all the developments being announced, it’s just a matter of time before this industry explodes.
Read more about this topic in Cnet’s article:
Paying with your face and car is the new paying with your phone
4)Using Mobile Apps to Monitor Employee Health
As a company, what do you do to take care of your employees’ health? Do you give them a tool to track their steps in exchange for a reward of some kind?
Some businesses don’t do anything to track the health of their employees. Some go beyond the call of duty by offering wearables to all their employees.
Employee health is critical to the productivity and success of a business, so what are you going to do?
According to a recent survey, 50% of employers are tracking their staff’s health using mobile apps. That means 50% aren’t. When you engage your employees in healthy living programs, you improve your business.
At Stuzo, we can build a mobile app for you to do this. Contact us today to learn more about our digital product innovation services.
5)Bringing Wearables to the Social Age
The progression of wearable technology has brought information to us with extraordinary ease. However, it’s still lacking in bringing community.
In a recent article by Wearable, the author explains this missing element by bringing the conversation over to the social environment. The article states that generations to come and younger generations of today aren’t as interested in information but rather social interaction and community.
As wearable technology grows, so should business developers’ ideas. It should no longer just be about measurements and information. Wearables need to include a way to connect other users to each other.
For example, with the Apple Watch, users can share their heartbeat with other users or share personal drawings with each other. This is a form of social communication, but it’s only the beginning.
As a business, you’re missing out on a great opportunity if you don’t create your own presence in the mobile and wearables industry. Build your own device or app for this, and see how your audience will grow.
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So, now that you’re aware of these trends, what are you going to do next? Our recommendation is to get started with your own technology in order to make your presence known in this fast-growing industry.
Stuzo can help you take your ideas and guide you from there to the finish line with our dedicated, professional team of developers and project staff. Your ideas can become a reality if you start by taking this first step: contact.