Smartphone may replace purse by 2020, Ericsson report predicts

Barely two weeks to the close of 2014 , Ericsson ConsumerLab in its annual trend report has released ten   consumer trends, identifying the most important trends for 2015 and beyond. The new iPhone 5C is displayed during an Apple product announcement at the Apple campus on September 10, 2013 in Cupertino, California. While mobile money

is gaining ground across many markets, the report among predicted that 48 percent of smartphone owners would rather use their phone to pay for goods and services.

Accordingly, 80 percent, the report indicated believe that the smartphone will replace their entire purse by 2020.

Meanwhile, the report has a special focus this year on smartphone owners aged 15 to 69 in Johannesburg, London, Mexico City, New York, Moscow, San Francisco, Sâo Paulo, among others.

It represented the views of 85 million frequent internet users. Speaking on the highlights of the report, Michael Björn, Head of Research, Ericsson ConsumerLab, in a video conferencing last week told IT Journalists in Lagos that, “The cumulative effect of smartphones becoming part of mainstream society is astonishing. As consumers, we try out new apps and keep the ones we think improve, enrich or even prolong our lives at such a rapid pace that we don’t even notice that our attitudes and behaviors are changing faster than ever. “With only five years until 2020, the future really does seem closer than ever before.” For   Rebecka Cedering Ångström, Senior Advisor, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said that the report is changing the mentality of the consumers in the digital economy.

The streamed future

According to her, media use patterns are globalizing, adding that viewer are shifting towards easy-to-use on-demand services that allow cross-platform access to video content.

She explained that 2015 would be historic as more people would watch streamed video on a weekly basis than broadcast TV.

Helpful homes

Consumers, based on the study she said showed high interest in having home sensors that alert them to water and electricity issues, or when family members come and go.

Mind sharing

New ways to communicate, she explained would continue to appear, offering us even more ways to keep in touch with our friends and family.

According to her, many smartphone owners would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thought and believe this will be mainstream by 2020.

Smart citizens

Speaking further, she said that the idea of smart cities is intriguing, adding that a lot of that intelligence may actually come about as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviors of citizens.

Consumers, according to the report believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers would be mainstream by 2020.

The sharing economy

As the internet enables us to efficiently share information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy, she said is potentially huge.

Half of all smartphone owners, she explained in the report were open to the idea of renting out their spare rooms, personal household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money.

My information

Although sharing information when there is a benefit is fine, smartphone owners, she further explained in the report see no point in making all of their actions open to anyone. 47 percent of smartphone owners would like to be able to pay electronically without an automatic transfer of personal information.

Longer life

From the report findings, smartphone owners see cloud-based services of various kinds giving them the potential to live healthier and longer lives.

Jogging apps, pulse meters and plates that measure our food, in the report were believed to help prolong our lives by up to two years per application.

Domestic robots.

Although Nigeria was not among the countries used in the report, she said that consumers were welcoming the idea of having domestic robots that could help with everyday chores. 64 percent also believe this will be common in households by 2020.

Children connect everything

Children, according to the report would continue to drive the demand for a more tangible internet, where the physical world is as connected as the screens of their devices.

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Smartphone may replace purse by 2020, Ericsson report predicts - Vanguard News