Acceleration

Implications - Discussions around blockchain technology and its applications in finance tend to focus on cryptocurrency. Another increasingly popular application, however, can be seen in blockchain's use as a mode of asset protection. This is especially popular among younger consumers who have a more inherent understanding of new technologies, and highly value transparency across the board. [More]

Implications - Community-based crowdsourcing apps are helping locals connect with those in close proximity to them, over a variety of shared values and purposes. Whether empowering locals or creating spaces in which they can help one another, these crowdsourced tools leverage tech to cater to the consumer desire for community-building and cooperation, countering widely held notions that such technology furthers divides between people. [More]

Implications - In its most simplistic form, packaging has been seen as housing for a product; in its most evolved form, packaging was an enhancement to branding. However, the emergence of smart technology enables packaging that improves product functionality. This speaks to the increased consumer expectation for seamless products. [More]

Implications - Social media has ushered the world into an age of consumercentricity where lifestyle reigns supreme. This lifestyle-focused approach has changed consumer expectations of businesses across industries and is impacting the way they view technology. The question of how dense technologies such as blockchain or IoT will enter into people's everyday lives is answered in more consumercentric applications that enhance natural consumer behavior, as opposed to serving pragmatic functionalities. [More]

Implications - Busineses are creating tools that protect small brands and individuals against counterfeit production and purchasing. These tools work to protect artists and creators from the theft of their designs, while empowering consumers and providing them with some autonomy throughout the purchase journey. [More]

Implications - Brands are taking their Pride Month engagements a step further by creating specialized pop-up experiences that celebrate the LGBTQ community. In a political and social age in which consumers expect brands to take a stance on the causes they support, this shift is able to cater to that desire in a way that is playful and interactive. [More]

Implications - To improve brick-and-mortar retail, brands are implementing advanced technologies like store map apps and navigation tablets. Giving shoppers the power to browse and direct themselves through a store using technology satisfies the consumer desire for quick and easy in-store shopping experiences. Simplifying the consumer’s path to purchase improves omnichannel retail by reinforcing the seamlessness of today's retail landscape. [More]

Implications - For companies trying to lure and retain Millennial employees, student loan repayment benefits are topical efforts that have the opportunity to encourage loyalty. This creative benefit strategy challenges the workplace stereotype that Millennials are less concerned with money and are more enticed by lifestyle-based perks. As the high cost of replacing fickle Millennial workers remains a consideration for employers and the average repayment balance for graduates continues to rise, efforts like this serve as an effective retention strategy by aligning the values of the employer and employee. [More]

Implications - Consumers are now able to project touchscreen interfaces at home, on everything from kitchen counters to their own arms. These technologies come as smart tech offers all-encompassing approaches to convenience and connectivity in the home, catering to consumers who require multitasking in order to enhance and arrange their families' work and play-related routines. [More]

Implications - Brands are utilizing robots and artificial intelligence in order to curate automated bartending experiences for consumers. These robots and environments cater to the experimental drinking culture that has become so popular among consumers, and has the added benefit of offering efficient personalization. [More]