Digital Lifescapes

The once-quiet hum of the warehouse is being overtaken by a new rhythm – the whirring wheels and gentle beeps of mobile robots. As eCommerce booms and customer expectations soar, the pressure is on for faster, more efficient online purchase fulfillment. Warehouse automation has mostly been taken on by big organizations with deep pockets, but growing accessibility and maturing vendors are allowing solutions to trickle down and grow through the market.  According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the global installed base of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in warehouses will surpass 500,000 by 2030. Mobile Robotics Market Development "There are now many options to automate a warehouse. Both stationary and mobile automation solutions have continued to expand to new form factors and are becoming more effective as Artificial Intelligence (AI) processing grows," said Ryan Wiggin, industry analyst at ABI Research . After their year in the spotlight with high-prof...

The modern wearables market began in the 1960s with the development of calculator watches and other electronic devices that could be worn on the body. The market has grown, driven by the increasing popularity of fitness trackers, smartwatches, and other devices that can track our health and fitness, provide notifications, and control our smart home devices. Wearable device demand growth declined to 14.6 percent in 2022 from 27.7 percent year-over-year in 2021 due to the economic slowdown and reduced spending after the peak of the COVID pandemic. Wearables Market Development This trend persisted in the first half of 2023, as longer replacement cycles and a lack of compelling features suppressed demand. The overall wearables market will rebound, reaching 689.33 million shipments by the end of 2028, with a CAGR of 11.3 percent between 2023 and 2028, according to the latest study by ABI Research. In 2023, the wearable market is projected to grow by approximately 10.2 percent, with shipment...

Digital wallets are a rapidly growing segment of the fintech market, which has accelerated since the global COVID-19 pandemic. They're important in the fields of financial inclusion, and movement towards a cashless Global Networked Economy. There are many types of digital wallets, fulfilling different use cases. Digital wallets enable users to pay for both online and offline transactions via either stored payment credentials -- such as debit cards, or currency stored in the wallet -- by utilizing apps on smartphones and mobile wearables. Digital Wallet Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the total value of digital wallets transactions will rise from $9 trillion in 2023 to surpass $16 trillion in 2028 -- that a CAGR of 77 percent. This trend is driven by growth across both developed and developing markets across the globe, as the increased adoption of advanced services such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), micro-loans, and personal fina...

Healthcare sector innovation tends to progress at a slow pace, due to a number of historical factors that inhibit agility. For example, the Smart Home healthcare market continues to grow and evolve, but the scale of the opportunity remains under-penetrated. Last year, new smart home healthcare shipment and service revenues grew 25 percent to reach $22.9 billion worldwide, but that growth rate may be hard to sustain, despite the potential for further growth. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, new smart home healthcare shipment and service revenues will reach $26.5 billion in 2023 -- that's up by 15 percent from 2022. Smart Home Healthcare Market Development Smart home healthcare, encompassing connected home care, remote patient monitoring, and social robotics, can improve the health and care of the most vulnerable while reducing staffing and other costs. It also represents an opportunity for a host of players from smart home vendors and beyond to extend ...

Forward-thinking retailers now have a bright future. In contrast, those that failed to enhance their business model via digital transformation have struggled, declined, and their assets were eventually liquidated. The key difference between these two business outcomes is applied strategic foresight. Even as the world continues to emerge from a global pandemic, retail is growing at levels not seen in the last two decades. Retail sales grew by 7 percent in 2020 and by over 14 percent in 2021, which is in stark contrast to the 3.7 percent annual growth between 2010 and 2019. The increased demand for retail has put a strain on supply chains and retail operations worldwide. As a result, retailers and stakeholders are turning to automation solutions such as mobile robotics for operational ease. Retail Transformation Market Development According to the latest market study by ABI Research, worldwide commercial robot revenue in retail stores will have a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of o...

Across the globe, business leaders and government policymakers are exploring applications for human augmentation. These enhancements are described as the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to improve physical or mental capabilities. The European human augmentation market -- including augmented and virtual reality, biometrics, exoskeletons, wearables, affective computing, and other human augmentation technologies -- will reach over $62 billion by the end of 2022 and more than $100 billion by 2026. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), businesses are increasing their investments in these technologies, and the overall human augmentation market will grow 37 percent in Europe by the end of 2022. Human Augmentation Market Development Companies are adopting a digital-first model and adapting to new realities and work policies that require support for use cases such as remote work collaboration, virtualized presen...

Clinical-grade remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a solution that involves the secure transmission of medical data collected on devices, via telecommunications services. It's enabled through text, sound, images or other digital media used for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of healthcare patients. The applications of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data analytics are enabling vendors to develop new use cases for remote patient monitoring. Remote Patient Monitoring Market Development In recent years, venture capitalists have increasingly invested in start-ups with competencies in these areas, especially integrated and lower-cost monitors and sensors. With this development, RPM will help to shift some healthcare services from the hospital to the home. According to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan, RPM is forecast to become a mainstream medical service, with related rev...

Wearable technology adoption has reached a turning point in developed markets across the globe. Berg Insight released its latest findings of the connected wearables market. Shipments of connected wearables reached 116.8 million worldwide in 2018. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4 percent, total shipments of smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness & activity trackers, smart clothing, mobile telecare and medical devices as well as other wearable devices are forecasted to reach 238.5 million units in 2023. Wearable Device Market Development Bluetooth will remain the primary connectivity option in the coming years. A total of 67.7 million of the wearables sold in 2023 are forecast to incorporate embedded cellular connectivity, mainly in the smartwatch and telecare or medical device categories. The connected fitness & activity tracker segment is led by Chinese Xiaomi, which has been successful with its Mi Band fitness tracker. Fitbit is still among the lar...

The Juniper Research digital healthcare ecosystem model highlights the flow of products and services from service providers to their patients and the flow of influence from the patients. The dynamics of the ecosystem are changing with patients having more influence on how they are treated and providing information back to developers, vendors and healthcare service providers. Digital Healthcare Market Development New findings from Juniper Research reveal that wearables, including health trackers and remote patient monitoring devices, are set to become ‘must haves’ in delivering healthcare, with $20 billion forecast to be spent annually on these devices by 2023. Meanwhile, assistive hearables, or connected hearing aids made available via healthcare providers, as well as directly to customers at varying price models, will mean this sector generates revenues of over $40 billion by 2022. Their latest market study found that adoption of healthcare wearables will be driven by improv...

While the wearables trend began with the wristband device, sensor miniaturization has now progressed to a wide range of form factors. As an example, the 'hearable' or ear-based wearable device combines these sensor inputs and additional computing power with a variety of new use cases for the ear. More miniaturization will help drive the capabilities of the market, as well as push hearables capability into the mid-tier device market. This sector is uniquely positioned, with more mainstream market pricing, to change both the wearables space and the existing ear-based device sector. Being able to successfully navigate this evolving landscape will require both a clear vendor vision on what the sector can achieve and an awareness of what existing technology partners can bring to the market. Hearables Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, there will be an estimated 417 million hearables in use by 2022. This includes fitness-fo...

Digital ticketing will continue to be a high growth market. A mobile ticketing user is someone who either purchases and/or stores a ticket using their mobile handset for later redemption. In contrast, an online ticketing user is likely someone who purchases a ticket online via an Internet connected device, thereby replacing the prior conventional ticket purchase process. There's been substantial new growth in mobile and online ticketing, partly as a result of growing user adoption and usage momentum. While in some markets ticketing is a new service offering and users have simply never had this functionality open to them previously, in other markets these services are mature and well established. Digital Ticketing Market Development Online ticketing now accounts for majority of ticketing transactions in many markets across the globe, including both developed and developing countries. That said, mobile ticketing is fast becoming a popular method for transit fare collection and ...

The global retail sector has been greatly impacted by the shift to online eCommerce. That being said, remarkable in-store innovation continues to transform the retailer employee and customer experiences. Retailers are beginning to use wearable technology to improve processes and customer satisfaction. Retailer wearables provide in-store employees with access to information such as stock levels, as well as to facilitate communication with team members. This allows shopper requests to be resolved faster and ensures that the employee continues to interact with the customer, improving the overall shopping experience. Retail Wearables Market Development ABI Research forecasts enterprise retail wearable shipments will reach nearly 10 million in 2022, increasing from just 2 million in 2017 -- that's a CAGR of 38 percent. This makes retail one of the fastest growing enterprise wearable verticals, with numerous devices improving store operations. Devices such as smartwatches, smar...

Digital transformation has begun to impact the industrial sector where maintaining security is a high priority. According to the findings from a recent survey of U.S. based utility companies, 40 percent of respondents believe that data security is the leading barrier to the adoption of new digital technologies. However, it's clearly a barrier that can be overcome, with 64 percent of large utility organizations expressing a willingness to adopt innovative technologies -- such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and wearable solutions -- within the next twelve months. Utility Technology Market Development "Technological transformation on energy as in the deployment of smart meters, sensors, and other IoT devices embedded into energy infrastructure, presents potential security vulnerabilities such as cyberattacks and threats from hackers, which have the potential to cause catastrophic results," said Raquel Artes, industry analyst at ABI Research . ABI survey findi...

As the wearables market evolves, total shipment volumes will maintain their growth momentum. Vendors will ship a total of 125.5 million wearable devices worldwide in 2017, that's a 20.4 percent increase from the 104.3 million units shipped in 2016. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), the wearables market will nearly double before reaching a total of 240.1 million units shipped in 2021, resulting in a five-year CAGR of 18.2 percent. Wearables Market Development "The wearables market is entering a new phase," said Ramon T. Llamas, research manager at IDC . "Since the market’s inception, it’s been a matter of getting product out there to generate awareness and interest. Now it’s about getting the experience right – from the way the hardware looks and feels to how software collects, analyzes, and presents insightful data." According to the IDC assessment, this means that users will be treated to second- and third-gen...

Wearable technologies are entering the workplace. ABI Research forecasts enterprise wearable device revenue -- such as smartwatches, smart glasses, and wearable scanners -- will exceed $55 billion in 2022, which is growing from an estimated $10.5 billion in 2017. With a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) that surpasses 39 percent, these devices will improve productivity, reduce errors, and save time training both new and seasoned enterprise workers. The implementation of strong supporting IT platforms is now essential to ensure proper employee access, storage, and security of all wearable device data. Enterprise Wearables Market Development "Wearables have much less in-built security and authentication protocols than other devices and so require robust security platforms to ensure data safety," said Stephanie Lawrence, research analyst at ABI Research . Supporting platforms enable IT teams to determine what business information the wearables can access, monitor th...

Wearables have gained some momentum with fitness bands and smart watches for consumers. Fitbit and Apple are the key category leaders in these markets, with others providing alternative ecosystems around similar functionality. Early adopters and the fitness conscious embraced these devices, but there's been little growth beyond this market segment. Now that's about to change, with commercial applications for smart glasses and the development of compelling new use cases. Smart Glasses Market Development Smart Glasses are the highest growth sector of the consumer wearables segment over the next five years, reaching 11 percent of the overall wearables market by 2021, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Revenues are forecast to grow from $327 million in 2017, to $9 billion in 2021 as the new generation of smart glasses emerges. The new study also found that the dominant wearables categories of smart watches and fitness wearables, have begun to slow. ...

The Internet of Things (IoT) includes small devices that create a constant steam of data that needs to be captured and interpreted as actionable insight. This use case is especially important within the healthcare sector, where the ongoing analysis of data can be applied to improve a person's life. The gradual change in direction for fitness wearables to become essential healthcare devices will lead to over 75 million Americans using dedicated activity trackers by 2021 -- that's over double the current user base, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Healthcare Wearable Market Development The new research has found that this shift in focus will help to alter the consumer perception of wearable trackers, making them seem more necessary to achieving and maintaining good health -- and potentially lower healthcare expenses, based upon lifestyle choices. Vendors like Fitbit, Withings and Misfit are leading this change, making integration with medical data...

Smartphone data security is growing in importance as more people are storing and accessing personal, business and financial data on their devices. Alphanumeric passwords are the common method of authentication, but can be difficult to enter accurately while on the move. Furthermore, the small screen size on smartphones -- relative to that of a desktop or notebook computer -- means that password input is more difficult, while an accidental keystroke can increase the user frustration. That said, biometric authentication is able to move beyond fingerprint scans and include a range of identifiers, from facial recognition to voiceprints, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Biometric Technology Market Development These methods will become part of many more consumer lives, installed on an estimated 190 million mobile devices  in 2016 -- including smartphones and wearables -- before exceeding 600 million devices by 2021. The new research found that...

Smartphones have changed the way that users interact with devices, where touch is the main method of interaction. Moreover, the development of wearables that provide VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) technology is helping to advance gesture control applications. While most software app developers are primarily focused on providing a method of control for VR and AR computing devices, such as head-mounted displays, there's an emerging ecosystem of companies working to bring this technology to smartphones and personal computers as well. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, gesture and motion control will become vital components for certain forms of human-computer interaction during the next decade. New User Interface Market Development The application of gesture and motion control technology in smartphone-based VR will be particularly important in promoting new usage. Juniper forecasts 128 million devices equipped with the technolog...

Wearable devices will be a key component of the potential upside opportunities for many vendors pursuing applications within the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market. New use cases are being explored by a growing ecosystem of software app developers. While you may initially think of fitness tracker applications, wearable devices are quickly migrating into the office and other work environments, with the wearable scanner market experiencing rapid expansion. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, enterprise wearable scanner shipments will reach nearly 22 million by 2021 -- that's an increase from just seven million in 2016. Wearable Scanner Market Development "Wearable scanners boost business productivity, offering workers a faster, hands-free alternative to the need for traditional hand-held scanners and paper picklists," says Stephanie Lawrence, research analyst at ABI Research . Ring barcode scanners, glove scanners, and smart glass...