It’s 2050 and there are no cars on the road as everyone travels via drone. Robots are doing the chores around the house as well as serving and cleaning in the remainder of the high street shops. Seems like a script from a sci-fi film and is completely unrealistic, right? Well, the same could have been said if you told people thirty years ago that the internet would rewrite retail and pretty much every other aspect of day-to-day life.
Technology is continually evolving and it seems to change faster than most of us can keep pace with. Long gone are the days of having to physically walk to the shop for groceries or to a football stadium for tickets; instead, you can now queue online and the internet has meant businesses have needed to adapt to fit the evolving world.
Bookmakers
It’s estimated that 80% of bets are now placed online, with that amount set to eclipse the 90% mark in the next five to ten years, and it’s easy to see why as online sites can provide generous welcome offers that physical shops can’t afford to do.
Bookies have moved with the times well and that’s been of real benefit for punters. Whether you’re after the thrill of the bet or you want to spin the wheel at the casino, all of these functions are now freely available online and on mobile devices. This means that it is no longer any requirement to visit a location in order to get the same rush you can do literally anywhere with an internet signal.
You won’t need to delve deep into your pockets to pull out some loose coins or a fiver either as bookmakers take payments online, so you’ll never actually have to hand over stakes to the staff and any profits you do make can be quickly, and safely transferred directly into your bank of choice.
Money
Banking has been completely revolutionized over the past 15 years. Previously, you’d have to wait in line at the bank in order to get money out or transfer to different accounts, but now it’s a few taps on an app away from completion. The digital revolution has meant trips to physical outlets, especially banks, have dramatically reduced. It’s impressive to see how quickly internet-based start-up companies have challenged traditional banks, and it’s recently been revealed that the top two banks in the UK for customer score are both digital start-ups that only opened for business in the last six years.
It’s not only developments in transfers through – payments have also progressed rapidly. If you still think chip and pin are new, then you should see the art of the possible. Contactless payments have boomed over the past three years with a quarter of all payments now using the method. Contactless payments via physical cards are one thing, but there is also an increasing trend in using contactless via eWallet payments (such as Apple Pay/Google Pay/Samsung Pay). Favored by the younger generations, paying for your coffee or lunch with your smartwatch or phone is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Food
Fast food has also converted with technology. Stopping by McDonald’s or your local Chinese takeaway for your dinner used to involve ordering and then waiting whilst your cuisine was readied, but even this formerly fast food has adapted to be quicker and easier for the consumer. McDonald’s now has an app to order and pay for your food, which means no cash transactions and you just pick up your food upon arrival.
Local takeaways have also benefited from the recent surge in popularity of online ordering apps such as Just Eat, meaning that the small businesses which used to solely rely on the immediate community to survive now have a much wider netcast and receive orders from further afield. The technology also means that their visibility and marketing are effectively done for them as the apps will advertise and promote their business.
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