Data Tracker:Top 5 consumer trends for 2017

Consumer behaviour is the mystery that brands have tried to crack for centuries. In recent years, however, the extensive availability of consumer data has helped their cause by providing granular details on behaviour that help indicate trends and patterns with greater efficiency. The Ericsson Consumer Lab has come out with its big trends for 2017 and the surveys show that technology will play a key role in defining and shaping more meaningful relationships between consumers and brands.
 
1. AI EVERYWHERE
 

Artificial intelligence is no longer a sci-fi story; it impacts consumption habits and consumers believe that its influence is set to grow even more. They also want more AI in areas that directly impact daily life. More people want an AI advisor at work (35 per cent) than those who do not (24 per cent), but almost half are concerned that AI robots will soon make a lot of people lose their jobs
 
2. INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)
 

IoT is rather abstract but consumers are gradually discovering how it can support their needs. Two in five advanced internet users believe phones will soon learn what we do and perform activities for us automatically; one in two smartphone owners believes they will be able to talk to household appliances.
 
3. AUTONOMOUS CARS
 

One in four pedestrians would feel safer if all cars were autonomous and 65 per cent of those who say so, also prefer to have an autonomous car rather than the one they have to drive themselves. Many advanced internet users also want self-drive functionality when walking. Two in five want their phone to warn against obstacles, and one in three wants street signs and lights embedded in pavements.
 
4. MERGED REALITY
 

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Although virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are still focused on gaming, people want to use such technologies for more everyday activities. Four out of five of those who use both fixed and mobile VR believe these experiences will be indistinguishable from physical reality in three years. Half of the respondents are also interested in gloves or shoes that allow you to interact with virtual objects as if they were part of the physical surroundings.
 
5. BODIES OUT OF SYNC
 

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Despite the advances made in transport technology, consumers feel that their physical existence is out of sync with existing methods of travel and is set to get even more disjointed. One in five feels nausea in cars or buses every week, as many as three in 10 foresee using car sickness pills in autonomous cars and one in three said they want VR/AR motion sickness pills.
  Source: 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2017, Ericsson Consumer Lab, Images: istock