Future Sectors Reimagined
The Big Themes for 2021 — Chapter Four
Reimagining Travel and Hospitality.
There is no question that the travel and hospitality industry has been the biggest loser of 2020. As WFA has become a reality for many more organisations it’s already clear there will be a long term reduction in the business travel market, which will significantly impact airlines and airports, train operators, hotels and the city centres they support. How can this infrastructure be repurposed? The environmental cost of flying was already creeping into mass consciousness, but a sudden limit on our ability to fly to different countries has changed our holiday habits.
How might local tourism capture that market share, what’s the impact on areas and nations who are dependent on international tourism and how might they diversify? Is this also an opportunity for virtual reality to finally shake off its gimmick label and establish itself as something that keeps travel interests alive?
Reimagining Retail.
Reimagining retail must start with reimagining the consumer experience. Consumer needs have shifted rapidly.
Challenges for high streets long preceded C19 with the steady transition to e-commerce. As with most things, C19 has simply (but very rapidly) accelerated the shift meaning high street shops, now more than ever, need to rethink what they do. Reimagining retail must start with reimagining the consumer experience. Consumer needs have shifted rapidly.
Shoppers expect personalised products and services — according to 2019 research by Oracle NetSuite in partnership with The Retail Doctor, almost half of consumers in the UK, US and Australia and 63% of millennials would pay more for personalised retail.
Shoppers expect brands to slot seamlessly into their lives and deliver instant gratification — 83% stating that convenience is more important when shopping than it was five years ago. No wonder 86% of Brits are Amazon shoppers. Brand loyalty is more important too, it seems, increasing by 20% after the first lockdown.
How might retailers attract customers from closed loop e-commerce ecosystems like Amazon? How could retail reimagine itself by having an experiential rather than transactional relationship with consumers?
Future of Education.
The education sector has historically been slow to adapt, hindered by layers of process and slow sales cycles but the events of recent months mean organisations and institutions have focussed on what’s really important in this virtual reality in which we currently exist.
As Jan Lynn-Matern of Emerge Education puts it, phase one was about workflow efficiencies, phase two was about bringing content online and now, “we are entering phase three, which is about bringing teaching and learning online: pedagogy as a product.” So how do we ensure the edtech mindset looks at the landscape through a truly user- focussed lens?
Edtech is the most funded sector of 2020 — what kind of innovation can we expect to see over the coming years? Will resources and tools evolve into fully-fledged hybrid educational institutes?
VC investments in edtech startups have tripled in 2020 to $998 million. As a result of this investment, what types of new products will emerge alongside the ones we’re already acquainted with? How will they compare and how will they differ?
We have the opportunity to design a future-ready education system that works better for its users than the current version, the question is — who’s going to adapt and who’s going to be left behind?
Jack is a Consultant at Fluxx. Click here for useful links to all things Fluxx.
Are you curious as to how Fluxx has helped companies such as Condé Nast, Mars, Thames Water, HSBC, Addison Lee Group and many more? Learn the secrets for sustained, repeatable innovation models, from expert practitioners. Get in touch now Jack.Metcalfe@Fluxx.uk.com.
Fluxx have partnered with magneticNorth for our tenth and final thought leadership series of 2020. We have shared values and objectives, complimentary skills and different industry experiences that, together, creates a powerhouse of design thinking and problem solving. Get in touch, hello@thisismn.com.
