The start of the year is always exciting for futurists and strategists as it is kickstarted by the exciting technology show CES – the Consumer Electronics Show. CES 2023 at Las Vegas had tantalising displays of gadgets and devices to come – from flying cars, assistive lipstick applicators to slicker foldable phones – but more importantly for marketers, it also gave pointers to trends shaping our homes, products and lives.

For the very first time, CES had a theme – human security. Certainly there was a lot of focus on this, both in terms of physical security as well as data privacy. Surveillance technology even got gamified.

Other major themes at CES 2023 were sustainability, wellness getting integrated into home gadgets (an oven with AI that suggests healthy menus, toilets that have urine scanners), enterprise take on the metaverse, the car experience getting heightened (cars that change colours, more cameras and sensors inside to understand driving preferences), as well as accessible technology (several big brands showcased offerings for those with disabilities).

Auto-maker BMW’s prototype for the I Vision Dee concept car showed how the effort is to personalise and humanise the car. So we saw a car with a digital soul but, an almost human personality.

An interesting new technology seen was masks that absorb voices and allow people to make private calls in public spaces.

For marketers, there were innovations showcased around attention metrics for campaign effectiveness and discussions around data ethics.

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