Three Trends in 2020 to Look For

As 2019 came to a close, we asked Theatro’s leadership to share their predictions for the new year. We covered everything from emerging technologies to industry trends, big data to workforce enablement, and AI to the potential dominance of Amazon Go. Their insights revealed three major trends we expect to gain momentum in 2020.

Ambient Computing

Our computing power continues to grow, expanding into new realms each year. Our homes are becoming interconnected systems that communicate with each other, support our routines, and allow us to monitor them from afar. Voice recognition has made significant strides, becoming a crucial part of how we engage with these systems, thanks to Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and others.

Voice Technology Adoption

Voice technology is our second major trend. Whether 2020 will be the year voice technology reaches its tipping point remains to be seen, but it’s clear it has come a long way. As voice technology has matured, consumers have become much more comfortable using it. Comscore predicted that half of all online searches would be voice-based by 2020, and mobile users are leading this charge. A BrightLocal report found that 74% of smartphone users used voice search at least once a week to find local business information. Theatro’s CEO Chris Todd notes, “Voice is a natural interface for human communication, so it’s not surprising to expect keyboards to go the way of the fax machine or the VCR in the next ten years.” Mindmeld’s study found that 61% of consumers use voice when their hands or vision are occupied, and typing is not an option, which had a 31% lead over the next motivator, fast results.

Expanding Trends into Professional Lives

The most exciting trend, in Theatro’s view, is the expansion of these technologies into professional environments. Historically, consumer technology adoption precedes commercial adoption, and we see this pattern again. Announcements from Salesforce and Google indicate growing interest and applicability beyond strong applications in automotive, healthcare, and banking. Bret Taylor, Chief Product Officer at Salesforce, commented, “I view it as part of this progression of technology. Computers and software started with a keyboard, then moved to a mouse and graphical user interface, and then to a touchscreen. Voice is really that next step.”

Retail Transformation

Retailers provide a fascinating case study of an industry poised for transformation as these trends converge. During the 2019 holiday season, retailers who adopted quickly and executed omnichannel delivery at scale were the winners. Online sales grew 18.8% between November 1 and Christmas Eve, and Buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) activity exceeded expectations. As consumers return an estimated $90-95 billion in gifts, many at physical store locations, this trend continues.

Walmart and Target demonstrated this season that a seamless omnichannel strategy involves many moving parts. Technologies, information, and people must be flawlessly coordinated to adapt quickly. Connecting disparate systems to automate back-end processes and enable information flow is key to driving the flexibility and intelligence needed to succeed. As a result, we expect interconnected technologies like IoT, mobile connectivity, and speech recognition to become more common in enterprise retail, especially at the store level. According to Theatro’s COO Patrick Fitzgerald, “Retail’s winners and losers will be determined by operational execution. Creative experiences and the right assortment help, but knowledgeable people ready to meet shoppers’ needs quickly and accurately will ultimately determine success in retail.”