Ericsson has released its latest annual Consumer Lab report with this year's 10 hot consumer trends.
The hardware company's report focuses on smartphone owners between the ages of 15 to 69 living in Johannesburg, London, Mexico City, New York, Moscow, San Francisco, S~ao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo, and represents the views of 85 million regular Internet users.
These are Ericsson's 10 hot consumer trends for 2015 and beyond:
1. The streamed future
Media use patterns are globalising. Viewers are shifting towards easy-to-use on-demand services that allow cross-platform access to video content. 2015 will be historic as more people will watch streamed video on a weekly basis than broadcast TV.
2. Helpful homes
Consumers show high interest in having home sensors that alert them to water and electricity issues, or when family members come and go.
3. Mind sharing
New ways to communicate will continue to appear, offering people even more ways to keep in touch with friends and family. Many smartphone owners would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thought - and Ericsson believes this will be mainstream by 2020.
4. Smart citizens
The idea of smart cities is intriguing - but a lot of that intelligence may actually come about as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviours of citizens. As the Internet makes people more informed, this leads to better decision-making. Consumers believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers will be mainstream by 2020.
5. The sharing economy
As the Internet enables users to efficiently share information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy is potentially huge. Half of all smartphone owners are open to the idea of renting out their spare rooms, personal household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money.
6. The digital purse
Some 48% of smartphone owners would rather use their phone to pay for goods and services, while 80% believe the smartphone will replace their entire purse by 2020.
7. My information
Although sharing information when there is a benefit is fine, smartphone owners see no point in making all of their actions open to anyone. 47% of smartphone owners would like to be able to pay electronically without an automatic transfer of personal information. 56% of smartphone owners would like all Internet communication to be encrypted.
8. Longer life
Smartphone owners see cloud-based services of various kinds giving them the potential to live healthier and longer lives. Jogging apps, pulse meters and plates that measure food are believed to help prolong our lives by up to two years per application.
9. Domestic robots
Consumers are welcoming the idea of having domestic robots that could help with everyday chores. 64% believe this will be common in households by 2020.
10. Children connect everything
Children will continue to drive the demand for a more tangible Internet, where the physical world is as connected as the screens of their devices. 46% of smartphone owners say children will expect all objects to be connected when they are older.
Share