According to the 14th edition of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions, a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global), in-store smartphone purchases worldwide will increase by more than 1,000% compared to last year. While the mobile wallet will not replace the traditional wallet yet, 2015 will be a tipping point towards wider consumer adoption of in-store smartphone payments. Other key points of this year’s publication indicate that print books will continue to dominate the publishing industry and that 2015 will be the year where organisations will be ahead of consumers for adoption of new technologies such as 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and drones.

As opposed to previous industry predictions around the smartphone reaching a plateau, analysis show that there will be one billion upgrades in 2015, signaling that the market has not yet matured or stagnated. 

“With the growing interest in using smartphones as a mobile wallet, we predict that 2015 will be the turning point in which all mainstream mobile requirements will be addressed, moving forward with simpler and more user-friendly secured payment options in place.” said Georges Kioes, Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leader, Deloitte Luxembourg.
 

Organisations back in the lead of innovative technology
In 2014, consumer interest in innovative Information Technology (IT) products were on the decline for the first time in years, with a moderate interest of users in wearable technology. Organisations, on the other hand, have been showing a growing interest in new products, e.g. 3D printing, drones and IoT, adapting these to business needs.

Additional highlights and details of this year’s TMT predictions to impact the marketplace in 2015 include:

Technology

• The end of the consumerisation of IT? In 2015, the pendulum of technology adoption will begin to swing back to the enterprise market, reversing a decade long trend that went the other way – when mass adoption of technologies like large screen smartphones and tablets started with consumer adoption first.
• The Internet of things really is things, not people – In 2015, over 60% of the one billion global wireless IoT devices will be bought, paid for and used by enterprises - despite media focus on consumers controlling their thermostats, lights and appliances (ranging from washing machines to tea kettles). The IoT-specific hardware is predicted to be worth around €8.5 billion (US$10 billion).
• Drones: high-profile and niche – In 2015, drones will have multiple industrial and civil government applications. Deloitte Global predicts sales of non-military drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs), to be about 300,000 units, driving the installed base to over a million. Although consumers or prosumers will buy the majority, most of the real value will come from enterprise use.
• 3D printing: a revolution? - In 2015, nearly 220,000 3D printers will be sold worldwide, but it is unlikely that there will be a ‘factory in every home’. Deloitte Global estimates about 80% of the value of all 3D printers will be for companies instead of consumers, meaning the real revolution will be in the enterprise market.
• Smartphone batteries: better but no breakthrough – Longer battery life is likely to remain a key factor for consumers choosing their next smartphone. The rechargeable, lithium ion (Li-Ion) battery technology used in all smartphones will improve only modestly in 2015, with no more than 5% greater unit charge or milliampere hours (mAh) compared to a 2014 model of the same dimensions and voltage.
• Click and collect booms: a boom for the consumer, a challenge for retailers – The number of click and collect locations in Europe will reach half a million in 2015, a 20% increase on the previous year. Click and collect provides shoppers with the option to pick up items purchased online from locations such as a special section in a store, a shopping mall, or a secure locker located in a transit station.

Media

• Short form video: a future, but not the future, of television - The total time spent watching online short-form video clips and other programming of less than 20 minutes in length, will represent less than 3% of all videos seen in the year globally. Deloitte Global does not expect short-form online content to usurp long-form traditional television. It is a future, but not the future, of screen-based entertainment and the publication predicts it is unlikely ever to be the predominant video format, as measured by hours watched or revenues.
• The ‘generation that won’t spend’ is spending on TMT – North American Millennials will lead the way in 2015 and spend an average of around €635 (US$750) per person for content, both traditional and digital. What are Millennials spending on? Pay TV, music, computer games, books, live sports, streaming video and even print newspapers.
• Print is not dead, at least for print books – Sales from print books will be five times the sales of eBooks. eBooks have not substituted print books in the same way that sales of CDs, print newspapers and magazines have declined. Young people (age 18-34) are as attached to print books as their elders, read at about the same rate than older demographics, and they are willing to pay for them.

Telecommunication

• Contactless mobile payments (finally) gain momentum - The end of 2015 will mark the tipping point for the use of mobile phones for in-store payments around the world. It will be the first year in which the multiple prerequisites for mainstream adoption – satisfying financial institutions, merchants, consumers and device vendors – have been sufficiently addressed. In 2015, about 10% of the base of smartphones worldwide will be used to make an in-store payment at least once a month, compared to less than half a percent (led by early adopters in Japan) of about 450 million smartphones in mid-2014.
• For the first time, the smartphone upgrade market will exceed one billion. 1.35 billion smartphones will sell worldwide in 2015, but over a billion of them will be upgrades – new phones for those who already have one. The upgrade cycle may be lengthening, but screen size, speed, storage, software and design will continue to drive growth for smartphone refreshes.
• The connectivity chasm deepens as gigabit Internet adoption rockets – Globally, the number of homes with broadband Internet will grow by about 2% to 725 million, and average broadband speeds in most countries will increase by 20%. The gap between those with access to the fastest broadband speeds and those on basic speeds will continue to widen in 2015, providing a varied experience from home to home, especially for high bandwidth applications like streaming video.

Deloitte’s annual Global TMT Predictions provides a 12-18 month outlook on key trends in the technology, media and telecommunications industry worldwide. Full details about the global TMT Predictions are available at: http://www.deloitte.com/lu/tmtpredictions2015