5 Tech Predictions for 2017
By Jackson Lewis on Mar. 20, 2017NEW YORK -- Business Insider’s BI Intelligence team recently released a report predicting what it believes will be the 30 biggest tech developments in 2017.
The study covers a wide range of technologies, from the Internet of Things (IoT) to digital media and e-commerce. CSP Daily News has sifted through the study for the predictions most likely to affect convenience-store operators.
Click through for five trends with the potential to change the c-store space in 2017 and beyond …
1. Computer, you can drive my car
Autonomous vehicles will take the next step in testing, according to Business Insider. The report points to tests with drivers behind the wheel in 2016 such as Uber’s test of automated vehicles in Pittsburgh or self-driving campus shuttles at MIT.
The report asserts that we will start to see autonomous vehicles tested on public roads and without human beings behind the wheel to supervise.
While advancements in driverless-car testing won’t immediately affect c-store operations, it’s a sign of things to come. If more drivers warm up to the idea of driverless cars, their approach to fuel providers will inevitably change.
2. There's a hack for that
Remember October 2016, when a slew of highly trafficked websites were shut down by hackers who attacked domain name service (DNS) provider Dyn by infecting connected devices and overwhelming the company’s servers?
Something similar will happen again this year, according to Business Insider. The report said that while last year’s attack changed the conversation around IoT devices—driving some companies to add more security to their connected items—it likely will not be enough to prevent another similar event. The report claimed that “we’ll see another attack that brings continued bad press to the IoT and prompts more discussion of wide-ranging security regulation.”
C-store operators keen on adding more internet-connected devices in their stores should pay attention to the level of security in their devices, as unsecure devices are easy targets for hackers looking to use them to get to credit-card numbers and other personal information stored by retailers.
3. Tech will find its voice
The Business Insider report claimed that the number of Google Voice searches doubled from 2015 to 2016, implying that the use of voice commands is on the rise. Business Insider predicts that 2017 will see “a surge in the number of brands using chatbots for marketing purposes.”
The report also predicted that as voice-activated features like those found in Amazon’s Echo and Google Home improve, voice input will become the “preferred method of human-computer interaction for tasks like texting and navigating.” Improvements in voice-input tech could give c-stores another path to reach consumers who are eager to order food online or through their mobile devices.
4. Click to the grocery store
The report cited a study from The Harris Poll claiming that 31% of U.S. shoppers purchased groceries online from January to June 2016. The poll also claimed that 10% of those who tried shopping for groceries online replaced some or all of their physical grocery shopping trips with online shopping.
Business Insider said consumers who have already fully or partially switched to online grocery shopping will shift “significant market share” from brick-and-mortar retailers to online. Food-focused c-stores should take note of these changing consumer behaviors.
5. Retailers in your palm
While customers have historically opted to research items on their phones and make purchases on their computers, Business Insider predicts that mobile purchases will rise to nearly half of all e-commerce transactions.
The study pointed to data showing that mobile purchases saw a 17% year-over-year growth rate last year, reaching 35% of online purchases. Business Insider said, “We expect 2017 to be the year that retailers begin to see a significant return on investment from their mobile tools and platforms.”