Digital Lifescapes

The application of new technology is an opportunity for traditional retailers to enhance customer engagement via digital transformation. Many of these established retailers are confronted by disruptive competition from eCommerce. Savvy retailers are evolving their business model into an omnichannel offering, where they combine the best of their offline experience and supplement it with an online shopping experience. Therefore, retailers that intend to maintain a physical in-store presence must operate more effectively. There are several technologies being combined to enhance the way retail store operations function -- including self-checkout apps, beacons, RFID tags, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). That said, the current global economic environment requires retailers to become more agile and decisive. Retailer Technology Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the value of transactions processed by smart checkout technologies, ...

The retail sector has undergone dramatic changes within developed markets, which the Internet of Things (IoT) technology adoption is accelerating. The widespread digitization of the market has given rise to an industry that's very much data- and demand-driven, as opposed to supply- and cash-driven. It's important to understand, when analyzing the use of IoT in retail, that it requires more than a bunch of technologies in isolation. It's a transformation in retailer business processes, enabled by a tailored set of purpose-built systems. Retail IoT Market Development According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, revenues generated by IoT retail platforms will exceed $4.3 billion by 2023 -- that's up from an estimated $890 million in 2018. According to the research findings, challenging retail conditions, exacerbated by strong competition in the retail sector, the rise of eCommerce and spiraling store rental costs are acting like a big motivation for re...

The retail industry has undergone a revolution as a result of eCommerce and its associated technologies. To a large degree, this transformation has negatively impacted physical stores that have tried to compete with less expensive and more convenient online retailers. Meanwhile, many of the major traditional retailers have expanded their online offerings but frequently struggled to compete against the leading pure-play eCommerce innovators. eCommerce Market Development However, there have been several recent technological developments that are both re-imagining the in-store retail experience -- as a service -- and re-tooling it to offer similar features to eCommerce. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, retail spending at new frictionless payment stores -- such as Amazon Go -- will increase from an estimated $253 million in 2018 to over $45 billion by 2023. Juniper analysts forecast that most of these consumer transactions to be wi...

The outlook for retailers have changed dramatically over the last few decades. This sector of the economy has shifted from a cash-driven, supply-driven industry to one that is very digitally-focused. The Internet has transformed retail. Where competition is most intense, innovation and market disruption are ongoing. Retail markets are now potentially unlimited, where previously they may have been very locally focused. Meanwhile, consumer expectations have altered in response to online and mobile retail. Customer service is now a key consideration before a purchase, now that it's easy to find the desired product at the lowest possible price. Retail Technology Market Development Meanwhile, in-store technology applications continues to evolve. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, retailers will connect 12.5 billion business assets, such as products, digital signs and Bluetooth beacons, to Internet of Things (IoT) platforms by 2021. This figure is expected to...

Wireless technologies are adding new fuel to the emerging Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) market. As an example, ultra-wideband (UWB) indoor location technology that's used for logistics apps is ready for substantial market growth. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, there's a significant emerging opportunity for the high-accuracy, low-cost ultra-wideband radio technology in industrial and IoT markets -- with total revenues to reach $15 billion by 2021. “High-precision UWB technologies are nothing new, with companies like Time Domain, Ubisense and Zebra Technologies being long-established vendors in the RTLS/asset tracking market," said Patrick Connolly, principal analyst at ABI Research . UWB Technology Market Development ABI analysts believe that while it's true that UWB is able to perform well in challenging RF environments, the cost/accuracy trade-off previously limited this technology to very niche applications. But now startups are i...

Having thoroughly researched the topic, IDTechEx has mapped the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, where things are collaborating with other things without human intervention at the time. These things have internet protocol (IP) addresses, micro-controllers for local data processing and they sometimes include sensors. The Internet of People (IoP) is very different -- a renaming of the world of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal electronics, it is maturing but adding wearable personal devices and new human interfaces. Thirdly, there are many other dedicated identification and sensor systems for things but these do not have IP addresses at the item level, using other data standards or proprietary systems. According to the  IDTechEx assessment, these are  NOT truly IoT as a result -- but some include them as part of the topic which leads to widely varying market forecasts. IDTechEx see two main application sets emerging for IoT – consumer application...

Wearable technology for humans is already somewhat in vogue. What's next? Wearable tech applications for animals -- from ultrasound-delivering treatment patches and electronic saddle optimization for horses to collars on many other animals that variously track, identify and diagnose. The new market study by IDTechEx explored the needs, technologies and markets of wearable electronics for livestock, pets and wild animals. Their study findings forecast that the global market, incorporating both RFID and non-RFID technologies, will reach $2.6 billion in 2025. The research analyzes in detail six application markets sectors. IDTechEx research predicts that during the next decade expenditure on medical diagnosis devices will increase in value market share from 11 percent to 23 percent and medical treatment (such as heating, cooling, ultrasound and drug delivery) will increase from a mere 1 percent to 13 percent. According to the IDTechEx assessment, we are in the decade of we...

Perhaps you have seen the research that Cisco IBSG has shared about the Internet of Everything phenomenon. Others are now participating in the global market assessment, with the intent to gain a better understanding of the applications and associated upside potential. The latest data from ABI Research on the Internet of Everything (IoE) shows that there are more than 10 billion wireless connected devices in the market today -- with over 30 billion devices expected by 2020. "The emergence of standardized ultra-low power wireless technologies is one of the main enablers of the IoE, with semiconductor vendors and standards bodies at the forefront of the market push, helping to bring the IoE into reality," said Peter Cooney, practice director at ABI Research . The year 2013 is seen by many as the year of the Internet of Everything, but it will still be many years until it reaches its full potential. ABI believes that the next five years will be pivotal in its growth and ...