Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is another fantastic example of content being the key indicator on how popular it can become. With last year’s introduction of a mainstream mobile game that introduced VR to the general public, the general feeling from tech experts was that augmented reality will play a large role in this year’s technology trend. Although there have been some great developments within the AR industry this year, it still hasn’t completely reached the point where AR is a part of our daily lives, which I do thoroughly believe one day it will! In terms of the promotional market there are some great indicators that AR could work well in our industry, with some promotional product suppliers beginning to integrate AR products into their offering, branding the physical product and the software the drives it.
Wireless Headphones
Out of the 5 trends I predicted would be popular this year, I definitely think that wireless headphones have become the most established in the consumer market. With another large smartphone manufacturer dropping the headphone jack, more and more emphasis is being placed on Bluetooth wireless headphones. All of the top headphone producers have released wireless headphones at all different price points, making them not only increasingly popular, but financially accessible too. Wireless headphones aren’t only popular and affordable in the consumer market; they are incredibly popular in the promotional market also. One of the predications I made in my blog at the beginning of the year was the introduction of ‘airpod’ style products into the promotional market. It didn’t take long for before my prediction to be true, within days of releasing that blog, we had a supplier visit, who showed us they had three products, in that styling due to hit the promotional market later on in the year.
Smarter Technology
In the time since writing my original blog, I have personally purchased several smart home assistants for my own use at home and as presents, simply because they provide that wow factor you want when giving a great gift. Whilst keeping up to date with all the latest technology I noticed a great trend beginning in the world of smart assistants, I have notice more and more products are being released with the incorporation of the smart assistant technology. One area of technology we are seeing this working incredibly well is with Bluetooth speakers. Bluetooth speakers are incredibly popular in the promotional product world, we sell Bluetooth speakers at all different price levels, and the thought of selling a branded Bluetooth speaker with the added unique selling point that it contains digital personal assistant software is amazing. A trend we may not see this year, but is definitely one we could see in the years to come is personalised assistants, with voices, start up sounds and software integration all targeted to specific companies takes the personalised branding experience to the next level.