GP Bulhound, the technology-specialized investment bank, has released its traditional annual Technology Predictions report. Let’s take a look at the ones that concern HR, marketing and communications specialists.
1. The creator economy will continue to grow
This is not a new trend… but it is growing at an unprecedented rate! There are more than 50 million influencers in the world today, whether on Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitch. According to a study by the platform Inzpire.me, an Instagram influencer would “only” need 42,000 followers to earn an average salary in the UK (£29,009) for… 8 publications and 8 stories per month! Knowing that the most important influencers can earn more than 400 times these amounts.
GP Bulhound’s experts predict an increase in brand investments towards these broadcasting channels, which have the advantage of knowing their community and their audience well. Even more so with the rise of non-fungible tokens that can potentially allow them to become less dependent on platforms and build stronger bonds with their followers.
2. Metaverse, a new generation of interactions?
This word, a combination of meta and universe, took on a whole new meaning when the Facebook group renamed itself Meta last year and announced that it was investing in the development of this new type of environment, where encounters are made through virtual reality headsets. For a lot of money! For marketing experts, business opportunities lie in the possibility of offering immersive experiences to consumers.
This implies a new approach in advertising. But also new possibilities for online merchants. A revolution described by some that would also rely on digital goods and cryptocurrencies. For better or for worse?
3. Artificial intelligence as a driver for diversity and inclusion?
Algorithms to combat recruitment bias? The proposal seems paradoxical when previous examples have rather shown the opposite, with technologies that tended to reproduce or even amplify discriminations.
Nevertheless, companies such as Entelo, for example, are currently training artificial intelligence to detect under-represented candidates and predict their skills. According to Entelo, this is a response to a crying need for diversity on the part of many organizations. But the technology could also help companies understand where their diversity problem is coming from based on their recruitment data.
4. “Buy now, pay later” is the future of payment
Also known as “split payment,” this new way of paying for purchases is here to stay, GP Bulhound believes. For consumers, it’s an alternative to credit cards and a way to purchase goods that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
For merchants, it’s a way to increase their sales, through to higher conversion rates or purchase values and the arrival of new customers. A market in full consolidation with players like Square who bought Afterpay; Amazon who partnered with Affirm; and Apple who announced to develop its own solution internally. Not to mention companies like Atome, Klarna or Openpay… among others!
