While many enterprises are desperately just trying to keep up with current demands from the always-on consumer, the digital community is moving past simple mobile optimization and omnichannel capabilities, and connecting people via technology in ways never before imagined.
Readers of Website Magazine's November issue (wsm.co/1116) learned, for example, how Microsoft is enabling augmented reality (AR) video conferencing that teleports a 3-D projection of participants in real-time so that people can communicate as if they were face to face. Developments like these no doubt contribute to Goldman Sachs predicting augmented and virtual reality will be an $80 billion market by 2025. Pokémon Go no doubt will contribute to AR's growth as well. The app brought augmented reality to the masses, even adding in some unexpected benefits.
According to a Microsoft Research and Stanford report, Pokémon Go added 144 billion steps within the first 30 days to U.S. physical activity. Those figures are not even as impressive, however, as the five new world records it broke according to Guinness:
1. Most revenue grossed by a mobile game in its first month
2. Most downloaded mobile game in its first month
3. Most international charts topped simultaneously for a mobile game in its first month (downloads)
4. Most international charts topped simultaneously for a mobile game in its first month (revenue)
5. Fastest time to gross $100 million by a mobile game
Despite all this, the effects on the local business economy missed the mark with San Francisco/Portland startup Womply unable to uncover any meaningful impact after reviewing its company's database of over 2 million merchants - regardless of reports indicating otherwise. Still, the app's overnight popularity proves we're one digital step closer to having the technology we're creating now, being what will inform us in the future, perhaps in 3-D humanoid form.
200.1 Million
Worldwide sales of virtual reality head-mounted displays (HMD) will reach 200.1 million units during the period from 2015 through 2020. By the end of that period, HMD shipments are forecast to reach 76.7 million units annually.
(Tractica, 2016)
49%
Nearly half (49 percent) of survey respondents say wearable technology will increase workplace efficiency, and 2 in 3 of them want their company to pay for their wearable tech.
(PwC, 2016)
12.4 Million
The production of new automobiles equipped with data connectivity, either through a built-in communications module or by a tether to a mobile device, is forecast to reach 12.4 million in 2016 and increase to 61 million in 2020.
(Gartner, 2016)
11%
When asked about when they connect to social media during their workday, about 40 percent of respondents said during lunch and intermittently throughout the day respectively, and 11 percent said during bathroom breaks.
(Bambu by Sprout Social, 2016)
30%
By 2020, 30 percent of Web browsing sessions will be done without a screen.
(Gartner, 2016)