Franziska Krauskopf, Innovation Advisor for TrendOne.
At the recent joint Freshfel/Europatat event in Brussels, Franziska Krauskopf, Innovation Advisor for TrendOne presented some of the most important trend developments in recent times.
Trendone looks and changes and more importantly, examines the first signals they see in things such as technology, smart applications and intelligent campaigns. They analyse around 1,500 signals each month and look at the patterns to see the trend development which ultimately enables us to see and predict how lives, behaviours and industries are changing.
Disruptions causing industry change
"Throughout history, certain things have come around which changes the way that things are done. For example, the invention of canning fruits and vegetables as a means of conservation at the beginning of the 20th century brought about huge changes to the industry, and at that time, it was thought that this would be the way of the future. However, the addition of cooling with ice during transport a few years later disrupted this and then 30 years later refrigeration disrupted the market and completely changed how we could keep fresh food at home. No one expects these changes which is why it is important to see these disruptions. These circles of change are getting faster and faster due to ever changing technology." shared Franziska.
The 'outernet'
The internet has moved to the streets in recent years, which has given birth to the term the 'outernet'. Smart phones have had a huge impact on how business is done in recent years. The original task of a mobile phone was calling, but today, calling only takes up about 15% of the usage of phones. In 2008, the percentage was 60% and this drastic drop is due to major changes in social media and all of the new apps and the other functions that smart phones are now able to perform. It is estimated that by 2020, 50 billion devises will be connected to the web of things.
Franziska Krauskopf demonstrating virtual reality to Stephan Weist from Rewe.
During her presentation, Franziska shared that we have now moved to the point where everything can be connected now, not just mobile phones.
"Things are no longer held on servers, they have moved to the cloud, so there are more options for sharing data with others. In the future we are going to use more flexible ways to record data. Drones are a good example of this type of sharing. They are getting smaller and smaller, more efficient and more affordable. They are not limited to just one function and have different types of sensors to record different things so they are able to provide more specific data."
Stephan Weist having a closer look at a drone and google glasses brought along for the presentation.
Predictive intelligence
Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more of daily life, making things easier for consumers. Google has been very active in the predictive applications and companies such as Amazon have already started implementing this to remind customers of when they are out of a certain product, adding it to their shopping lists.
ThinFilm Sensor Tag Norway is a great example of the internet of anything, where any product can have its own digital profile connecting the things consumers own in a smarter way. Like warranties and manuals, medicine bottles which can remind you when it is time to take a pill or a washing machine giving you the number for a mechanic in the area when it needs to be fixed. If you are a brand you can have a one to one relationships with your customer and physical products can transmit a stream of data analytics on how they are made, sold and used.
This predictive intelligence is also used as a tool to connect the entire supply chain, where all data is saved to run analysis and make improvements.
Smart Logistics using augmented reality was also presented. This is done by using google glasses to eliminate the need for paper and allows voice controlled hands free operation. The technology is about making logistics smarter by using data. It tells the workers where to go so there is no need to look for things any more. TrendOne believes that smart logistics are the way of the future. In 2014, 3.5% of sales are lost annually due to inefficiencies in the supply chain.
Consumer trends
The top three trends; urban farming, conscious living and seamless commerce, all of which started from the consumer level, were also presented.
"Lack of space, especially in cities, has made things like urban farming more popular. The movement started with 'guerrilla' gardens in cities and abandoned areas and has become a whole development using available space in the city. A good example is City Blooms in the US, which provide farm spaces (micro farms) which are controlled remotely (hydro system and monitoring etc.) and adjust everything accordingly. Processes are automatised, like they are in the larger businesses as well." said Franziska.
Metro Germany recently demonstrated a good example of conscious living, by placing their own herb gardens in the supermarket which can be picked by customers during shopping, which also means that the product is the freshest possible.
"It is important that companies are meeting customer needs with local, transparency and fresh. Consumers want to know where everything comes from and what is behind the growth process. This is especially important to younger generations, who also choose products by who they would like to associate themselves with."
A recent survey amongst US and UK consumers showed that only 5% of customers believed that big brands are transparent.
Seamless commerce
It is important the businesses start selling in a different way. The modern customer has their mobile phones with them at all times and it is how they are shopping. Franziska stressed that it is important that businesses are utilising all of the same channels as their consumers, such as chat applications and beyond. This is vital to forming something called seamless commerce, which is a seamless customer journey and something which will become increasingly more important in the future."
"It is increasingly difficult to get the attention of the younger generations, where it has now been shown that they officially have a shorter attention span than a goldfish, which is 8 seconds and 9 seconds respectively." said Franziska.
"We need to be able to understand how customers behave and feel. Technology can help us with that. The 'digital natives' are expected to change everything and turn all industries on its head so it is very important to understand them."