If 2020 was the year technological adoption accelerated throughout society due to the pandemic, and 2021 served to consolidate this trend, 2022 represented the beginning of a new era of digitization.
This year was a watershed moment for those whose professional lives rely on technology. While, on the one hand, there were significant cutbacks –with massive layoffs at companies like Meta, Twitter, and Amazon, to name a few examples– it was also a year in which significant innovations took place.
One of the technologies that demonstrated the most evolution and democratization during 2022 was Artificial Intelligence. Some of the most talked-about cases came from OpenAI, which presented two innovations accessible to everyone. These are ChatGPT, a prototype allowing conversations and texts to be held on a wide variety of topics, and Dall-E, which can create images based on user commands.
The Metaverse was another central theme of the year. This virtual world, in which various technologies converge, grew exponentially with the addition of millions of new users worldwide. Despite doubts regarding its future, brands have already realized that they need a presence on this site to provide customers with new experiences and strengthen relationships with them.
Now it’s time to reflect on the main digital trends that will be hot in 2023. We will also point out how these trends can help organizations improve their investments, expand their business and prepare for the challenges of the world to come. Let’s get started!
Trend #1: From digital agility to digital fluidity
One of the significant challenges for companies today is that many of their digital initiatives need to be stalled due to various factors, including internal misalignment and a need for more transparent processes and work methodologies. As if this were not enough, digital transformation processes continuously need to be able to scale in new talent and capabilities, depending on unique needs that arise.
The evolution of the digital ecosystem has allowed us to develop sophisticated models for implementing strategies that ensure internal capacity to adapt to the business’s digital needs with fluidity, from pivoting business ideas to their release, implementing a Way of Work, and consuming transversal services.
To carry it out, organizations must create a unified work scheme in which the different areas –IT, Data, Marketing, and Design– act as a single service under a model that goes beyond agile.
A continuous digital transformation methodology will allow companies to accelerate the delivery of digital products and services, ensuring the delivery of value and enabling the evolution of their business.
At Multiplica, we have begun collaborating with companies in creating Innovation Labs, providing methodology and knowledge to scale the creation of digital products. A trend that will increase in the coming months.
Trend #2: New business models thanks to Web3
This evolution of the web will allow organizations to interact with customers, partners, and suppliers without intermediaries, giving rise to direct commercial links between the parties.
This change, in which decentralization and exchange occur without traditional intermediaries, has Blockchain technology and Tokenization as its main protagonists.
In addition, by implementing a common Blockchain infrastructure, coupled with new AI capabilities, machines can understand the meaning of the information being processed and stored. This enables brands to create more intelligent, customer-specific user experiences.
However, this is not only a technological change but also a shift in mindset. Industries can register new contracts, commercial activities, and businesses that did not exist before. Industries like pharmaceutical, financial, or insurance can now use Web3 to create more transparent, open, and user-centric processes.
Trend #3: From digital transformation to digital maturity
There has been much talk about digital transformation in recent years. However, this has now been surpassed. Companies are entering a new stage focused on the maturity of this digital transformation and what has been achieved.
This achieved maturity has led many companies to rethink their business model, going beyond increasing revenue from digital channels and pursuing new models that impact their digital ecosystem, making it profitable.
In this sense, large companies like Tesla ventured into auto insurance, and CPG companies entered Fintech to finance their customers’ purchases.
The key is to clearly understand what has been accomplished and the current level of digital maturity. From this point, analyze where the model matures and know where it needs to be taken. Then, look for the tools and partners to assist in this continuous maturation process.
Trend #4: Increased personalization and experimentation
How to stand out and capture the attention of users who are increasingly bombarded with information? Companies must continue to communicate in a personalized manner, focusing on the particular needs, tastes, and preferences of their customers and users to succeed in 2023.
Using personalization platforms and experimentation techniques allows for developing data-driven campaigns, which help create innovative scenarios. This will enable companies to meet sales objectives and reduce costs.
Personalization tools have become more sophisticated, allowing for greater levels of complexity and incorporating experimentation techniques that aid in conversion. A good example is the business case of a large retailer who, based on knowledge of its customers’ behavior, worked to provide a robust, unique, and personalized experience on its website. As a result, they were able to create more conscious digital experiences to foster customer loyalty and recurring visits
In addition, thanks to web push notifications that included information and feedback from other shoppers regarding abandoned products in a shopping cart, the company was able to increase the recovery uplift of these carts by up to 350%.
Trend #5: Trust and digital identity architectures
Users are increasingly aware of the risks they face in the digital world, and they expect companies to live up to their expectations in 2023. Security is gaining relevance among consumers when choosing one brand over another, which will be crucial to success in the coming year.
Therefore, providing customers with everything they need to control their data and make them feel in control is essential. Allowing them to manage their privacy whenever they want is critical for increasing trust and deepening the relationship.
A Google-led study of more than 20,000 people found that privacy and privacy-related experiences significantly influence trust and brand choice. Investing in security and trust is critical for a company’s success this year.
Trend #6: Metacloud for organizing chaos in the cloud
Most companies have invested in cloud-based systems and platforms over the past few years. However, the variety of systems and the need for orchestration often bring more problems than solutions.
A good solution for companies organizing these platforms is to bet on Metacloud. This is the addition of a higher technology layer, providing companies with a unified view of the different cloud providers for more flexibility and better management of the other processes and services.
A unified vision of the different business processes and systems in the cloud allows companies to have better cloud management, optimizing costs and reducing efforts. In addition, It aids companies in identifying redundant tasks or processes, adding new layers of automation for operations, increasing governance, and enhancing security, all critical aspects for a successful and efficient 2023.
Trend #7: Design System to unify brand image
It is no longer just about carrying out UX techniques to improve certain products or services. A Design System is a methodology that, in addition to creating digital products and services, also allows standardizing the work between the different areas of the company.
This vision of design as the core of the experience proposes unifying design in both online and offline channels to offer a unified and harmonious experience for all audiences. In addition, this makes it easier for companies to provide the same brand image and messages. This is excellent value for marketing teams, as it reinforces positioning more simply.
Companies like Repsol are already working with Design Systems. By implementing the Oxygen design system, they assist designers and developers in creating a new generation of digital products. This collaborative tool aims to create coherence in the company’s digital product ecosystem by combining patterns, components, and interaction design guidelines into a single grammar.
At Multiplica, we have collaborated with companies, including Vueling and Televisión de Cataluña, to incorporate this methodology, with multidisciplinary teams that educate and evangelize within the company to take this step.
Trend #8: Agile Research for Innovation
This 2023 requires the development of digital products and solutions built with an agile, iterative, and evolutionary vision. Design teams must make accelerated decisions in ever-shorter timeframes to meet user demands.
Companies must have pooled user bases to ensure that these decisions are the best. They can then conduct online testing, eliminating the need to wait for in-depth research results before making product design decisions.
By incorporating solutions that integrate different platforms and sources of information, companies can make agile decisions based on user preference data.
Trend #9: Data-driven attribution models
As for Digital Marketing, the trend will be linked to attribution models. Not only that, but also working to understand better which media each conversion should be attributed to.
While the most widespread attribution model has been the last-click model, in 2023, it will be marked by the data-driven attribution model. This will make it possible to better understand the weight of each touchpoint in a user’s conversion.
In addition, it will be necessary to think about these models from the perspective of the Customer Journey of each user to have a more global vision of the process followed by customers moving from one channel to another.
In this way, it will be possible to accurately understand the actual performance of each channel and identify which one is performing better. Companies will thus be able to draw a funnel with a correct budget attribution, not an indicative one, to fine-tune marketing investments better.
Trend #10: Brands that dare to say what the audience wants to hear
Companies must adapt to new consumers to succeed in 2023. Beyond impacts on structural issues (such as pandemics or inflation); or cyclical matters (such as a World Cup), companies need to connect with the public emotionally.
The first step is to learn about shopper behavior and evolution from research. Companies can leverage information and timing to generate WOW moments by gaining customer insights in an increasingly fast-changing environment.
Companies like KFC, for instance, have opted to approach their customers directly and uncomplicatedly by carrying out various BTL (Below the Line) campaigns in Spain to attract customers to their physical stores, taking into account the environment in which they were located.
This type of action provokes a unique feeling that allows brands to connect with the public emotionally, providing an unforgettable and innovative experience, thus increasing brand awareness.
2023 will be a year of significant challenges, and technology will be of more relevance in strategy and decision-making. For more information on how these trends can impact your business, contact Matías Garrido, Global CEO at Multiplica.