It may have been a brief month but February is going to end with a bang, with one of the biggest events of the tech world about to kick off. In the run up to Mobile World Congress (don’t forget to book your slot to meet with Swrve!), here is your bite-sized round up of the app, marketing and tech stories that you’ll want to know about before you arrive.
This month’s mobile marketing digest features a range of articles that take an in-depth look at some of the topics that are likely to be top of the discussion list for Mobile World Congress, looking at some of the implications and complications of integrating technology like AI and AR into emerging platforms.
What we can expect to see at Mobile World Congress 2018
5 minute read. By Mike Sutcliff. Via The Drum.
There’s nothing like being prepared. With plenty of speculation about what will be unveiled at MWC and the impact this will have on the industry, make sure you’re ready for the packed program with this article. This rundown of the major subjects that are likely to be taking centre stage at MWC looks into the future of these technology developments, including digital assistants and the intriguing sounding ‘Industry X.0’.
6 Predictions On How AI Will Advance In 2018—And Beyond
3 minute read. By Alastair Cole. Via CMO.com.
It feels like AI is being talked about by nearly everyone in the industry, and no wonder when it underlies so many of the developments that have the potential to change the way we interact with devices, from the Internet of Things to chatbots. Cole’s article looks at some of the most interesting features that AI could enable. As the article states, ‘No one is in any doubt that 2018 will be a huge year for AI’, so read up and get ahead of the game.
Marketers have one main question to answer when it comes to AR
3 minute read. By Barry Levine. Via MarTech Today.
Shiny new tech is all very exciting, but unless it integrates into our daily lives and becomes useful in solving real problems, it’s unlikely to become more than a flash-in-the-pan novelty. Retail is one of the most obvious areas that AR can be applied to successfully, but there are still issues to overcome, particularly in connecting digital experiences to bricks and mortar stores and physical products.
Retailers with shopping apps now see majority of e-commerce sales from mobile
1 minute read. By Greg Sterling. Via MarketingLand.
The statistics in this piece make for dramatic (and encouraging!) reading. It’s generally recognised that mobile is dominating the digital retail sector, but it’s worth taking another look at the extent to which this is happening. The differences in the numbers of transactions between mobile internet and apps are particularly interesting: the conversion rate on apps is around three times higher than on mobile web. Sterling’s article also touches on the more complex buying patterns that come from users engaging on multiple devices, showing how necessary a multichannel view on user behaviours is.
What will smart speakers be like in 2023?
5 minute read. By Anna Johansson. Via The Next Web.
For many of us, smart speakers feel like they’re already an integral part of our homes. Seeing how quickly these have developed in complexity and become mainstream devices suggests that there’s still plenty of scope for them to evolve further over the next five years. Privacy, the addition of visuals, personalization and the dominance of certain brands are of particular interest, especially now that we know Facebook will also be adding to the noise with a smart speaker of their own.
