The Consumer Technology Association (CES) It is one of the most important technological events in the world. This year it took place from January 4 to 7.
During four days, you can learn about a large number of technological innovations that will take shape and gain ground in society throughout 2022. The presentation by Steve Koenig, Director of the Consumer Technology Association and owner and producer of CES, focuses above all on publicizing what he believes will be the major trends in the sector.
What will we see in 2022?
Steve The presentation begins by recalling the words of the British economist Christopher Freeman who says that “During times of crisis, technological innovations accelerate and even accumulate”. “We have witnessed a great technological development during the last year”, emphasizes the CES owner and producer.
Technological development is usually accompanied by a large investment by companies. Last year 800 new companies from 19 different countries were waiting to receive financial injections.
2021 has broken a record in technological demand among consumers. In the first quarter, consumers in China bought 55% more technological gadgets.
“Growth is starting to slow down a bit” He says Steve.
He has also presented the data from the study carried out by the CES every year where it is observed that the greatest technological expenditure of Americans is in Software. Furthermore, the report concludes that in 2022 there will only be a growth of 2.8%, while this year has seen a growth of 9.6%.
Smart home appliances are preferred by consumers
“There is strong consumer demand in the tech sector”well you don’t see it Steve when it also shares the data of the most famous technology products among consumers. Most products are smart appliances, so we will probably see a 21st century.”very smart“.(Photo)
In other European countries (England, the Netherlands and France) the consumption of electronic devices has increased. Smart devices are not as famous, but we are beginning to see a growth in consumption in products such as smart speakers. “Studies show that once you buy a smart home device, it drives the purchase of many more”.
Services in the spotlight
Consumers are increasingly paying for more services. This has caused companies to offer a wide variety of subscription models.
Some of the brands that are attracting consumers the most, according to Steve, are Peloton or Hydrow (smart rowing machines). “You are not just buying a rowing machine. He bought a machine that is connected to a class, I can be surrounded by people and compete. This is the type of premium experience that interests the consumer” Explain Steve.
However the Director of the Consumer Technology Association I couldn’t talk about services and subscriptions without mentioning Netflix or prime video, since they are the two services with the most subscribers worldwide. According to the latest data collected by the report of companies and media, it has been observed that Disney + is experiencing great growth.
“Consumers on average subscribe to eight paid online services”
With this data, Steve highlights how consumer behavior has changed during the pandemic and how consumers have integrated technology much more into their daily lives.
Consumers support the use of artificial intelligence to receive product recommendations
The “Consumer Sentiment 2021” study revealed which are the main areas in which consumers consider that Artificial Intelligence can participate. First on the list is product recommendation at 78%.
In second place is the home cleaning with 77%, followed by the nutritional and sports advice (75%) Y crime prevention (71%). Other activities that have also had good results are cooking, offering legal advice or making financial investments.
It could be said that consumers are becoming more and more open to artificial intelligence being part of their day-to-day lives.
Is the metaverse here?
“The metaverse is closer than we think” that has been the answer of Steve, and adds “if we stop to think the metaverse is already present in the games”. There is technology that will facilitate the appearance of this, such as the cloud or 5G.
“The metaverse is an expression for the next generation of the Internet, which will deliver more and more immersive digital experiences.”
More and more companies want to participate in the metaverse. Hyundai has presented its virtual cars during CES so that consumers can test them in the metaverse.
Steve during his talk has presented what has been the timeline that the metaverse has followed for its development.
Digital health gains strength
The pandemic has increased people’s concern for their health. Something that has been reflected in the consumption of telemedicine devices, wearables or digital services.
People with some type of chronic disease had already started using some of these products before the pandemic. But the increase in demand by consumers has also brought an increase in the variety of these products. Probably, in the future we will see how products appear to help people in aspects such as mental health.
The sectors that have obtained the most financing
2021 has been a very positive year for startups. They have managed to obtain large capital investments despite the fact that COVID-19 has not yet completely disappeared.
CB Insights has studied which are the sectors with the best results:
- retail tech. 82.5 billion dollars have been invested in this sector.
- fintech. 94.7 billion dollars have been invested in this sector.
- healthcare. It has been the winner, obtaining an investment of 9.7 billion dollars.