Sometimes it’s useful for marketers to understand trends that may affect their businesses. Here are some of the current trends that I am monitoring:
- 5G technology
- The Internet of Things
- Mobile Internet
- Cloud technology and distributed infrastructure
- Democratization of technology
- The world becomes hyperconnected
- Seamless language translation, making the world even smaller
- Exploration of more direct human-computer interfaces (HCI)
- Electrification
- Electric vehicles (EVs)
- Autonomous vehicles
- Drones
- Battery technology
- Microgrids
- Grid-connected renewable energy systems
- All forms of clean tech
- Software defined vehicles (SDVs)
- AI & machine learning
- Autonomic systems
- Generative AI
- Big data analytics
- Edge computing
- Quantum computing
- Nanoparticles
- Next generation materials including honeycomb lattice
- Virtual and augmented reality
- Advanced robotics
- 3-D printing
- Process automation and hyper-automation
- Explosion of smart devices
- Genomics/genetic engineering
- Health care data analytics
- Personal medical devices
- Telehealth and mobile medicine
- Hyper-personalized medicines
- Social determinants of health (SDOH) receive greater attention
- Mental health becomes a larger priority
- Unbundling of health care
- Web 3.0
- Blockchain (distributed ledger) technology
- Cryptocurrency
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- A cashless society
- Privacy and cybersecurity
- Biometric technology (face, voice, eye, hand and signature security security)
- Photonics
- Deglobalization
- Redesign of supply chains
- Increased self-service
- Recurring revenue streams
- Distributed enterprises and remote employees
- Increased flexible work
- Continued growth in the gig economy
- Huge need for retraining for new economy jobs
- Minimum living wages as an alternative to job loss
- Increased time sharing of all things
- Extreme personal profiling
- Hyper-targeting and hyper-geofencing
- On-demand personalized customer experiences
- Move from retail stores to Internet distribution centers and home delivery
- Cameras, cameras everywhere
- Struggle for personal privacy
- Increasing popularity of veganism and vegetarianism
- Increased focus on personal health
- Decrease in romantic relationships
- Move toward all media consumed through the Internet
- Move toward unique and boutique in retail
- Increasing acceptance of sexual freedom
- Increasing use of personal digital assistants
- Continued decreasing trust in traditional institutions, especially government
- Decrease in organized religion, increase in personal spirituality
- Shift from a patriarchal society to a matriarchal society
- More focus on the home
- Increasing self-care and compassion toward others
- Increasing importance of pets as family
- Increased frequency and severity of natural disasters due to climate change
- More eco-friendly lifestyles
- The private sector steps up its support of social and environmental issues
- Distributed localized agriculture through hydroponics and aeroponics
- Increased “fake news” and disinformation
- Increased sophistication of deep fakes
- Increased botnet activity
- More censorship, less free speech
- Increased public awareness of and pressure to address economic inequality
- Less capitalism, more socialism
- Continued urbanization
- Continued population shifts to less expensive states
- Less abundance thinking, more scarcity thinking
- The blurring of war and crime with the emergence of terrorism
- Rethinking of the criminal justice system
If you aren’t familiar with some of these, I would recommend that you search on and read about those that most interest you.
