These are the Friday “High Five” stories in the digital product innovation space during the week of 5/14/2016 to 5/20/2016 we noticed were trending.
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1) Samsung Pay’s Increased Support
If you’re in the United States and use Samsung Pay, you can now upload more than just your credit cards. Samsung Pay now allows you to upload up to 100 loyalty and membership cards to your device. Customers can scan their cards at checkout, increasing the convenience of mobile payments.
In regards to your business, this announcement further proves how popular and valuable a mobile loyalty program is. If you want to see your first-time customers coming back, a loyalty program is the way to go.
Contact us at Stuzo to see how we can build a mobile payments or mobile loyalty rewards program for your business.
2) Google’s I/O Keynote Announcements
On Wednesday, Google hosted the first day of its I/O Conference, starting with a two-hour keynote presentation. The keynote included many major announcements about the Android platform as well as their new products.
Google announced their new IoT device, Google Home, which serves as a direct competitor to Amazon’s Echo. They introduced two new apps for Android and iOS: Allo and Duo, a messaging app and video calls app, respectively. Google also announced major updates to its Android developer platform.
To truly dive into all the announcements from Google’s I/O Conference keynote, watch the event on YouTube.
3) Virtual Reality’s Growth Opportunities
In several past Friday High Five articles, we’ve discussed how valuable virtual reality can be for businesses. This value is increasing with time.
Last Tuesday, Fortune Magazine published an article that goes into depth about how more businesses are looking to virtual reality for growth opportunities.
“Companies that incorporate virtual reality technology now could spur consumer interest, which should lead to further adoption rates by their competitors” – Michael Cuggiono, Portfolio Manager, San Francisco-based Permanent Portfolio Funds
Although virtual reality is experiencing slow adoption from investors and consumers, the industry is expected to explode in popularity soon. Potential users are waiting for the kinks to be resolved and for businesses to offer an integration of value.
That’s where your business can find opportunity. Contact us today to discuss your ideas and needs for creating a virtual reality experience for your customers.
4) Fitbit’s Newest Acquisition
Fitbit has acquired Coin, a company that owns one of the most advanced payments systems. With this new acquisition, Fitbit aims to build wearable devices that both improve the health of their users and also the convenience of their everyday lives:
“We are focused on making wearable devices that motivate people to reach their health and fitness goals, and that also make their lives easier with the smart features they need most.” – James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit.
This is just a first step in making Fitbit’s wearables more usable in the everyday experience. Wearables that serve limited purpose will not last, but multi-featured wearables are the future.
Wearables that integrate other services with their core elements will be more appealing to a larger audience. Apple has already incorporated this by allowing businesses to add their own apps to the Apple Watch. Fitbit’s survival depends on its ability to stay useful, and adding third-party apps is the way to go.
Does your business have a mobile customer-base? Of course, but are you doing what’s necessary to reach this audience?
Here at Stuzo, we have the experience and capabilities to build a wearables app for your business. Contact us today to get started.
5) The Future’s IoT City
Is your business prepared for the future of IoT? It’s coming, and now is the time for you to get involved.
In a recent Forbes podcast, you’ll hear all about how IoT technology will help build cities and improve our daily lives. It’s a future that’ll help many areas of life, and that means businesses of any industry can stake their IoT claim.
IoT is a risk, but it’s one that can bring your business to the forefront of your industry as well as bring you in front of a larger consumer audience.
If you think you’re ready for IoT development for your business, contact us at Stuzo to set up a consultation. We’ll discuss your business goals and help you achieve them.
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Stuzo is a digital product innovation company that can bring your business ideas to reality. We build apps for businesses such as yours so that you can achieve your goals.
If you want to see an example of our mobile app development, check out this Swarovski case study where we built a mobile loyalty rewards program for them.
We’ve worked with many companies since our establishment in 2007. Our experience speaks for itself.
Contact us today to build your own digital presence.
