CES 2022 Trend Recap: What Brands Need to Know
Discover the key CES trends in sectors like CPG, healthcare, mobility, and more
Despite CES 2022’s early end amid the ongoing Omicron surge, this truncated consumer technology show nevertheless offered us some intriguing glimpses into the future of digital innovations and the brand opportunities they may bring.
Some of the hottest products of the early to mid-2010s shows, such as 4K TVs and health-oriented wearables, were once dismissed as novelty gadgets, yet now have become commonplace and have changed the way we interact with content and brands. More often than not, the emerging trends from today’s CES show floors evolve to become the major consumer tech trends of tomorrow, with the power to raise consumer expectations and disrupt industries. For the Lab, that is a big reason why we keep returning to CES year after year.
Here are the emerging trends from CES 2022 that all advertisers and brands should know.
Cashing In on The Creator Economy
by Adam Simon
Now that a significant portion of knowledge workers have shifted to remote-first or hybrid working, it’s becoming clear that the lines between traditional office work and the larger creator economy are blurring. After all, presenting a PowerPoint over Zoom is really just an under-produced Twitch stream (or an over-produced podcast), and whitepapers are just Substack newsletters by another name. As a result, the lines are also blurring between knowledge work and the creator economy — a sector now estimated to be worth around $100 billion globally — which opens up the potential tools that can be brought to bear in any working environment.
This year, CES saw plenty of companies targeting gadgets, platforms, and apps at the intersection of today’s creators and tomorrow’s knowledge workers. One of the most obvious was Anker’s new Video Bar, an all-in-one video and audio upgrade for remote work or streaming. Samsung announced an ultra-wide curved monitor, the Odyssey Ark, which can rotate into a portrait orientation to give you 3 virtual displays — one for your video preview, one for your guests, and one for the content you’re sharing. Again, it’s perfect for Twitch streamers, but also a great addition for anyone who spends most of their days presenting content.
When you need to share certain types of content, streamers have long understood that specialized hardware was necessary. The Linklet, for instance, is a new type of wearable camera that drapes around your neck, giving you a convenient way to share what you’re doing with your hands. And Roland introduced a wireless video mixer, that easily lets you convert any spare iOS or Android device you have on hand to a remote camera, allowing for quick and easy multi-camera setups.
We also, of course, saw creator economy tools announced with less obvious business applications, like Tooning, from Samsung’s incubator, an app which helps quickly animate hand-drawn characters. And of course, Web3 made an appearance at CES, with Samsung announcing NFT support for all of their TVs (including the art-focused Frame) via a marketplace that’s coming later this year, and Netgear’s Meurel connected art displays following suit. As the definition of “creator” continues to expand, we’ll undoubtedly see more investment in the creative side of computing and technology at CES in future years.
Upgrading Home Appliances via Software
CES 2022 taught us that truly smart products will update and evolve automatically to keep up with changes in human behavior and technology standards. The future of the at-home economy includes these “smarter” smart appliances that assure consumers of their value for big-ticket items by promising software updates and upgrades for the immediate and foreseeable future.
With rising expectations as well as technological capabilities, brands have adapted their strategies to include an accelerated upgrade cycle. For example, Whirlpool made headlines for announcing a new “air fry” mode that would automatically be installed in some of its existing smart, Wi-Fi connected ovens. Not only is Whirlpool positioning itself as a culturally-relevant brand by aligning with the highly-popular air fryer, it’s introducing a comforting concept to consumers by promising a software update that is an “instant over-the-air upgrade” for existing appliances.
LG also focused on software improvements with updates to its ThinQ app and home services. The company also promised regular upgrades so that their smart appliances can learn and improve based on household usage. The ThinQ recipe app lets users browse 10,000 recipes, and upon selection will add the necessary ingredients to a delivery order from Amazon Fresh or Walmart. As more services become automated, the future of the at-home economy could mean that different smart appliances communicate with each other.
While the promise of seamless upgrades is an exciting idea for consumers, it can easily be met with frustration, if not executed correctly. That’s why there was extensive praise at this CES for Matter, the platform dedicated to unifying device communication across brands in the home. In fact, major smart home players like Apple, Amazon, Google, LG, and Samsung have pledged their support for Matter to further promote interoperability of smart home devices. This commitment will elevate operating standards and ease the chaotic experience of managing multiple smart devices. In the future, smart homes will not only feature the most technologically innovative advancements, they will also be simple and easy to operate for everyday people.
At the Lab, we are calling this extended product lifetime and cross-functional experience a new trend known as Lifecycle Loyalty. This disruption of how consumers think about the lifecycle and ecosystem of smart products is creating new opportunities for brands to reimagine the concept of loyalty — especially in the home. The relationship between brand and consumer is extending far beyond the point of purchase to encompass the evolving software lifespan and accompanying services. Advancements in Lifecycle Loyalty have implications within sustainability and cultural relevancy, as brands can create new communication touchpoints and add value over the course of product lifespan.
Making Sustainability More Accessible
One of the most encouraging trends at CES this year was the excitement that exhibiting companies demonstrated to address the climate crisis with innovations in sustainability. More than in years past, we saw new concepts that considered the full lifecycle of products by implementing responsible packaging, using environmentally-friendly materials, and lower energy requirements.
Although on the surface it may seem like global tech companies woke up and decided suddenly to act in an altruistic fashion, these decisions were primarily motivated by the bottom line. After all, consumers are increasingly choosing to interact with and purchase from brands that align with their personal values, and two-thirds of Americans believe climate should be the top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations.
Global CPG brand P&G featured several interesting products and concepts in this space as part of its LifeLab virtual exhibit. These innovations included an intelligent sorting technology that uses digital watermarks embedded in packaging for faster, more accurate sorting of recycling, a razor made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) ocean-bound plastic, and a toothbrush with a swappable head, allowing consumers to reuse 80% of their toothbrush.
Another noteworthy packaging design was from EC30. They were demoing their solid, single-dose cleaning products for home and body. The innovation integrates ingredients into fibers rather than suspending them in water, thereby reducing the number of ingredients. This, in turn, makes the products lighter to transport since there’s no added water, and thus lowers their environmental impact.
Besides these sustainable CPG designs, this year we also saw circular economy concepts for the home, electric mobility concepts for transportation and logistics, and smart city concepts that all aim to reduce the amount of pollutants created by our supply chain processes and consumption habits. We can expect these types of innovations to become the norm going forward as value-based consumers start to make their category decisions based on environmental impact. Overall, brands that understand and mitigate the impact of the full lifecycle of their products will be well positioned to succeed as we embark on a truly vital decade for our planet.
EV and AI Driving Mobility Innovations
EVs are now the main focus for all auto brands, whether it’s OEMs adding new styles and form factors to their existing fleets (like SUVs, vans, trucks, tractors, or construction and agricultural machinery), or newcomers like Sony rolling out new mobility concept vehicles.
Improved battery design means manufacturers are making batteries that are both more compact and more efficient, allowing for longer distances between charges. Additionally, we saw various approaches to enhancing the charging infrastructure needed to power higher ranges of EV usage. Mercedes, for example, placed solar panels directly onto the roof of its new EQXX EV SUV, powering these vehicles for up to 620 miles on a single charge. Better yet was BMW’s new concept vehicle, called the iX Flow, with color-changing “E Ink,” which allows the driver to save energy all with the push of a button. In hotter weather, the in-car temperature can be reduced by changing the exterior to a lighter color, and vice versa on colder days.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are also making vehicles smarter and safer than ever, and are poised to transform the relationship between driver and machine. Cerence, a pioneer in vehicle voice-recognition, created a virtual butler for your car. Instead of drivers telling the car what to do with traditional wake-up words like “Hey Alexa,” Cerence’s Co-Pilot AI can proactively offer to perform actions before drivers even need to ask. For example, the system can suggest ordering and paying for a cup of coffee when the driver is a mile from their favorite coffee shop. Another example was Continental ShyTech’s displays, which features a control surface made of buttons, lights and switches, all of which are hidden when not needed to ensure the driver focuses on the road.
Lastly, the ability to customize one’s vehicle has always been an option for car buyers, but this year we saw French automaker Stellantis offer even more customization possibilities, giving creators new ways to express themselves and their personalities. Customers are free to choose their decoration from the available collection or else awaken their inner artist, by selecting a creation from among their own photos and coming up with the text they want to see displayed on their vehicle’s body.
Brands Catching Up with Telehealth Adoption
Digital health typically has a huge presence at CES, and this year was no different. Last year was all about pandemic tech; while that was still present on the show floor this year, it’s no longer the main focus. Rather, 2022 picked up where 2020 left off: even prior to the pandemic, there was a clear need for investment in new health tools. With the cost of healthcare rising and much of the industry stuck in antiquated technology, people are demanding better solutions and increasingly turning to digital tools to help manage their health.
As is the case across many sectors, the pandemic did accelerate this behavior, with tools like telehealth and remote patient monitoring experiencing substantial growth over the past two years. As such, much of what we saw on the show floor this year was tailored to consumers’ growing interest in these products, with brands (endemic and otherwise) offering seamless health tracking and management, ultimately empowering consumers to take control of their health and fitness.
LG, for example, leaned into the increased adoption of telehealth, announcing that its 2021 and 2022 smart TVs will be equipped with a health education and telehealth app from the senior-focused health platform Independa, which will allow users to set up and have telehealth appointments through their TV. While telehealth usage has stabilized following its peak in April 2020, it’s still 38x higher than it was before the pandemic, with 13–17% of outpatient visits happening via telehealth (compared to about 9% prior to the pandemic).
In direct tandem with telehealth comes an increase in health monitoring devices. Many of the digital health products at CES this year offer continuous, ambient health monitoring, requiring little to no effort on the part of the person whose health is being monitored. Historically, these ambient solutions have been tailored to caretakers of two key groups — infants and the elderly, and there’s still plenty of these examples this year. But this year, we were particularly compelled by Sengled’s Smart Health Monitoring bulb, a smart light bulb that tracks your sleep, heart rate, and body temperature using radar technology.
Beyond medical health, fitness offerings at CES similarly focused on real-time data tracking. In addition to the array of fitness-focused wearables (including Mojo Visions’s fitness-tracking smart contacts), fitness platforms sought to distinguish themselves with performance tracking and engaging features that would compel people to use their services, even as gyms and classes reopen. Wondercise, for example, announced Wondercise Studio, a social media platform for fitness that lets anyone livestream their own class, complete with real-time metrics and performance feedback from its proprietary fitness trackers.
As the pandemic ebbs and flows, consumers will only grow more and more comfortable using digital health tools. Overall, the adoption of digital health tools and devices that collect and analyze people’s health data offers an opportunity for brands — that data, of course, is quite valuable in understanding your consumer, and in turn brands have the opportunity to build experiences that empower consumers to understand their health.
The Metaverse Invades Smart Cities
by Richard Yao
As expected, talks of the metaverse permeated the CES show floors this year. Across various categories, the concept was generously applied to anything related to virtual spaces, whether as a home decor design platform from Samsung or the virtual platform created by 8chilli specifically for physicians and healthcare professionals to connect with their patients. Despite the lack of consensus on what constitutes a metaverse, it nevertheless shows the high level of enthusiasm and curiosity that this promising concept has generated.
One particular innovation domain in which the metaverse is generating great interest is within smart cities. As startups and public institutions around the world seek to improve cities with ubiquitous connectivity for better energy, resource, and traffic management to improve the lives of urban inhabitants, a lot of the discussion around smart cities at CES this year has conflated with the metaverse buzz, especially around the the “digital twin” technology that is used for creating a digital replica of a real-life city, combined with the real-time data input that is necessary for monitoring and scenario modeling.
One standout brand example of this convergence at CES is the “metaverse” concept that Hyundai developed for showcasing its vision for the future of mobility. The Korean automaker created a 3D digital platform called M. Vision Town, in which CES attendees could test drive its two concept vehicles as personalized avatars. Similarly, simulation platform Cognata could help city planners create realistic digital twins 3D environments with real-life traffic agents as moving, interactive objects.
For brands, it is time to start exploring the myriad of new OOH opportunities that the development of smart cities could bring. For example, the mixed-reality platform created by Transmira aims to help businesses and creators attach AR and VR experiences to real-world locations. The platform goes beyond the common “scan and see” AR apps and gives the consumers 3D branded virtual objects they can discover and redeem for real-world products and special offers. Platforms like this could be linked to the smart city infrastructure of the future and present interactive, location-specific branded content to the most relevant audience in a hyperlocal manner.
Stranger Things from CES
by Ryan Miller
The cutting-edge demos and prototypes from major tech conglomerates typically dominate the CES headlines, but it’s the quirky eccentricities emerging from the corners of the Vegas Convention Center and bustling booths of Eureka Park that also remain in our memories of CES.
Hot off the successes of a former CES favorite Phone Soap, Steri-Write is a tabletop sanitizing station that allows users to drop their pens through a decontamination chamber after they’re done using it; use cases range from ultra-high transmission instances like doctor’s offices to more everyday locations like restaurants. Though not the most inspired or ingenious engineering marvel, the device is indicative of how COVID consciousness is still influencing innovation at scale at CES.
In an increasingly always-on world, it’s unsurprising that sleep tech continues to be a hotbed for innovation as the eight-hour cycle falls further into a thing of lore. Devices like Olly — a smart night light with a calming glow– and Loftie — an alarm clock that seeks to break our digital dependence — seem like approachable ways to inject a little more R&R into our lives. NYX’s Sleep Deduction device more aggressively targets those experiencing insomnia through CO2 dispensing technology that envelops the prospective sleeper in a calming shroud of carbon dioxide to help them fall asleep. Not kidding.
It’s impossible not to experience a child-like sense of wonder at CES sometimes, especially as it pertains to innovation across all things play. From omnidirectional treadmills to support the VR user in your life looking to stretch their legs, to an outdoor game console meant to bring the fun of virtual environments to outdoor activity, there’s something to inspire all imaginations. Amagami Ham Ham is the next transcendent toy, a stuffed animal that will — wait for it — softly nibble on your finger. The best part, users can select from twelve unique nibbling patterns for their companion. Despite how adorably useless Amagami Ham Ham may be, it is reflective of the level of interactivity and customization customers have come to expect in the play sector.
The last 24 months have provided useful research into how many hours a day it is possible for a human being to remain in the same chair in front of the same screen. LG has developed the ultimate home media center for a party of one, certainly leading the race for “the most interesting TV form factor at CES 2022.” TVs and screens remain a CES stalwart and with more at-home content creators (and ravenous consumers), the appetite for new devices to fit more nuanced use cases has surged.
Whether it be a speaker that beams music directly into your head or $400 lightsabers that are combat appropriate, CES is never short on the zany or imaginative. And if you look just hard enough, you might spot something that’s set to transform your industry, just a step ahead of your competitors.
Want to Learn More?
If you’d like to learn more about the trends that emerged from this CES and their marketing implications, or simply to chat broadly about how to adapt to changing user behaviors and future-proof your brand strategies in 2022, the Lab is here to help. You can start a conversation by reaching out to Josh Mallalieu (josh@ipglab.com).
