Beyond dongles and dashboards
By Gary Shapiro
Gary Shapiro
In an age where smartphones can do just about everything and consumers rarely make phone calls anymore, conversations around the Internet of Things (IoT) are beginning to shift from hardware specs to apps and functionality.
Consumers are beginning to expect brands to sustain interactions with them long after a purchase is made.
Just a couple of years ago, brands equated the implementation of IoT to using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies to keep tabs on inventory, identify weaknesses in the supply chain and figure out which items were bestsellers. Yet today, RFID technologies have taken on another role.
Take fashion house Ralph Lauren as an example. Ralph Lauren stores have installed RFID antennas in interactive mirrors in changing rooms that can immediately identify items brought into the changing room, down to size and color. These smart mirrors let customers “try on” different colors of the same outfit without leaving the dressing room, and can even adjust the lighting in the room. Not ready to commit? Have the information about what you tried on sent to you via text so you can mull it over.
Elsewhere, Korean startup WAY is working on a device that allows users to receive instant feedback on their skin condition and provides personalized beauty tips and recommendations for how users can take better care of their skin. The device analyzes your skin condition from data collected and can then make personalized product recommendations.
Yet, implementation of these innovative technologies often requires large capital investment which can lead to long lag times.
In 2013, Disney World started using ‘MagicBands’ at their Florida resort. These RFID sensor bands allow visitors to the park to make reservations for rides, meals and other activities. But for its Shanghai location, due to open later this year, Disney decided to scrap the idea of ‘MagicBands’ completely, opting for app implementation instead. The speed at which technology is evolving means that guests can achieve more with their smartphones and, at the same time, significantly reduce the cost of implementation for Disney.
eMarketer estimates that 40.8 percent of the mobile phone population in the Asia-Pacific region has a smartphone, with figures expected to rise to 51.5 percent by 2019. Brands looking to jump on the IoT bandwagon should look to mobile phones as a viable, cost-effective platform.
The biggest challenge with IoT adoption is figuring out how to harness the vast amounts of data generated by each of us every day in order to make IoT personally worthwhile. Technologies like smart mirrors have opened the floodgates and released vast troves of data. Besides dealing with information from these technologies, brands have to navigate these troves, pulling from both social channels and e-commerce sites, and ensure consistency across all touch points.
In order to reap the benefits of IoT-driven revenue opportunities, brands need to be able to understand and make sense of the large amounts of consumer data that is now available. Such opportunities would demand a different approach to marketing and product development, with big data capabilities being integral to making sense of this information. According to a 2015 study conducted by Gartner, 40 percent of businesses think IoT will have a significant impact in the next three years; however, those surveyed said that many of their organizations lack established clear business or technical leadership for their IoT efforts.
James Brehm & Associates found that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of business executives worldwide said that security was a top barrier to IoT growth. In addition to intimately meeting the needs of the consumers, brands also need to ensure that measures are in place to prevent any security breaches, and to maintain the trust that customers have in the relationship.
The last thing that companies need to note in their brand building journey is that consumers want to move beyond dongles and dashboards. As the rise and fall of Google Glass has shown us, consumers resist technologies that make them look like cyborgs. Instead they want technologies that are small and, more importantly, fashionable. Visitors to CES Asia can expect to witness technology becoming nearly invisible.
Take Under Armour (UA) for example. Instead of slapping a shiny metallic square with a fancy strap onto the arms of consumers looking for a fitness tracker, UA’s Gemini 2 sneakers come with trackers embedded in the shoe to note distance as well as real-time pacing information. Runners don't have to carry their smartphones or separate fitness trackers with them on runs, as the shoe automatically syncs via Bluetooth technology upon their return.
In the age of the informed consumer, it’s more important than ever for brands to have a complete understanding of what makes consumers tick. Brands that would stand in the company of immortals are the ones that not only understand the consumer, but are also able to use the information that they have to predict what exactly the consumer wants, before they even have to ask.
Gary Shapiro is the president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner and producer of CES Asia.