The new year is officially upon us, AGAIN, and we’re already thinking about the next big trends for 2018. Markets grow increasingly competitive and consumers grow more and more wary of all the different messages they see on a daily basis. So how do you stay at the forefront of all of this? The answer requires some forecasting to predict the next big thing and a little innovation. Let’s reflect back on our predictions for 2017 and see how accurate they were:

1

Prediction: Progressive Web Apps Will Take Over in 2017
Progressive Web Apps are a hybrid of a website and an app. They have the responsiveness, fast load time, and ease of use of a website, combined with an app-like user experience (push notifications, splash screens, page transitions). They don’t involve any downloading from an app store either, you can simply search for them in a web browser, and even browse offline.

Reality: While we predicted Progressive Web Apps to really take off in 2017, we think we may have jumped the gun a bit.

Although big name brands, like Twitter’s mobile website and The Washington Post have hopped on this bandwagon, it may be a little while before other brands really start to follow suit. We still think this technology is extremely useful, just hasn’t quite caught everyone’s eye just yet!

2

Prediction: Augmented and Virtual Reality will Be A Hot Trend
Augmented reality and virtual reality aren’t new to the scene, but now that they’ve been proven as successful methods for generating an exciting buzz (*cough* Pokémon GO *cough*), more and more big brands will be jumping on the virtual bandwagon.

Reality: It is safe to say that Augmented and Virtual Reality did become quite a trend.
But are they here to stay? How much time do users really spend using Virtual Reality technology? Experts say 10 minutes or less! Is it worth it to invest in this technology? Or should your business stick to Augmented Reality and video? We think video is the way to go in the future. People are craving real life experiences!

3

Prediction: Livestreaming Will Take Over Social Media
Creating and sharing content has never been easier than whipping out a phone and recording the events taking place right in front of you. And, with Facebook and Instagram’s, Facebook Live, they made livestreaming an increasingly popular way to connect with friends.

via GIPHY

Reality: This Trend is Here to Stay.
Streaming videos accounts for over 2/3 of all internet traffic, and that number is expected to jump by 82% by 2020! Live streaming has absolutely taken over!

4

Prediction: Micro Interactions Will Humanize the Web
Another trend to watch for in 2017 is the utilization of more animation and micro-interactions that humanize the web and mobile apps. By adding fun interactions to small details throughout a website, such as hovering over objects and having them animate, it gives users a more personalized and memorable experience, while also encouraging them to give feedback and interact with the site or application.

Reality: Micro Interactions are Here to stay!
Now more than ever we see the implementation of bots and chat services on websites to assist users on their journey. We see this continuing and only getting better as personalization becomes predictability in 2018!

5

Prediction: Voice Recognition and Digital Assistants Will Expand
Convenience is at the top of the list for consumers and nothing is more convenient than simply talking to a device to complete a transaction, learn the day’s weather, or find out when a restaurant closes.

Reality: Although Voice Recognition has been around for a while now, 2017 did mark a huge expansion in Voice activated digital assistants.
From Google Home to Amazon Alexa, these new voice assistants will continue to invade many more homes in years to come. Brands will have to adjust because of it if they want to make the most of the new swing craze of voice recognition software. Optimizing for voice search should be a priority if you want to stay competitive in your market.

What do you think the next big digital trend will be in the year of 2018 and beyond? If you have additional insight, we’d love to hear it in the comments below or you can tweet us!

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