Happy New Year, all!

Today is National Technology day and to kick off 2016, we’re taking a look at how much it has impacted our everyday lives.

SHOPPING

It’s no secret that we live in a consumer-driven world where technology is rapidly evolving. With US holidays like Black Friday taking the UK by storm, online shopping is thriving. Last year, British consumers spent £810m on online purchases alone – that works out to a rate of £9,375 every second. So in 2016, what are retailers doing to drive consumers back to their stores?

With over 1.8 billion people in the world owning an active social media account, it’s never been easier for brands to reach its target audience. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest all have a ‘Buy’ feature and sponsored ads in their news feeds, with Instagram being the next to follow.

In addition to this, the rise of holograms and other augmented reality technologies will soon be commonplace in retail as well. With things like mannequins being no longer needed, retailers will not only save space but they could also avoid controversy over sizes of mannequins as well.

We could even be seeing some virtual supermarkets like this one trialled in South Korea in the near future!

REAL TIME MEDIA

We live in a world that live-tweets and streams everything – what a time to be alive!

Real-time media and visual updates are more engaging, and the success of live streaming apps like Periscope are proof. Last year, we saw brands use the app from everything to live-streaming a day at the zoo, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from fashion shows, and more.

What tech trends do you want to see in 2016?