The tech industry lost some wind in 2022, ending the year with layoffs, shrinking market value, and a few epic collapses (looking at you, FTX). The hype around many technologies—such as Web3 and internet of things (IoT)—fell short of reality. These technologies all have real value, however, and brands will use 2023 to tap into their potential.

Connected Devices Get Ready for Commerce

Ubiquitous IoT will open doors for commerce. Smart TVs, connected homes, and connected cars not only have proliferated, but each is also independently experiencing catalysts that will make them easier to use and more responsive in 2023. With seamless connections in new contexts, new forms of commerce should follow:

• Smart home IoT gets integrated. Matter, the long-awaited common standard, went live in October. Users can now integrate devices and tie them to virtual assistants, opening new paths to ecommerce.
• Embedded car systems make payments easier. As embedded operating systems become more common, commerce will spread beyond the early partnerships that focused on car-related payments, such as parking or gas, to other types of commerce.
• Click-to-buy comes to your TV. The integration of virtual assistants will make it easier to create new connected TV (CTV) advertising formats and purchasing moments—although full-scale commerce may not evolve immediately.
• QR codes and visual search create new mcommerce opportunities. QR codes have become ubiquitous on billboards and digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens as direct conduits to product pages and interactive experiences.