Predicting a More Human Future for Technology in Retail

What will the world look like in 2030? How have the tumultuous events of the past few years shaped the way we interact with technology? This article from Inside Retail attempts to answer that question from a retail and marketing point of view.

In the future, data collection and surveillance will continue to evolve, so trust will be key for consumers. 95% of customer interactions will be powered by AI, and “smart cities” will connect and automate services. Governments and corporations will continue to abdicate their responsibility and shift blame for climate change onto individuals through programs like a “personal sustainability score,” which will work like a credit score or Uber rating. This score is meant to prioritize climate-friendly spending decisions.

The article advocates for Web 3.0 and the metaverse, as well, as alternative sources of profit. But with cryptocurrency in crisis after widespread public rejection of NFTs and the metaverse and the unstable, casino-like nature of cryptocurrency culminating in the FTX debacle, it remains to be seen if these new technologies will ever be viable or accepted by a large swathe of the public. Gen Z grew up with the depression and anxiety of pandemic-enforced loneliness and are already beginning to turn away from social media. The article promises “a world where relationships between technology and people are much healthier,” but instead gives us a vision of a world where the consumer serves technology, rather than the other way around. These kinds of long-term predictions are difficult to make with any accuracy, and the question of the next decade will be whether technology serves us or we serve technology. 

Inside Retail subscribers can read all of the predictions for the retail landscape of 2030 here.