Many major emerging technologies in artificial and virtual reality are becoming more accessible, but are they worth investing in? 

In this post, I’ve gathered TK stats related to emerging technologies and the impacts and potential impacts they can have on marketing and marketers in the near future. 

Augmented and Virtual Reality

For years, researchers have said that virtual reality, which gives viewers an immersive and interactive 360-degree virtual experience, will hold the best opportunities for gaming, entertainment, and academic industries.

Experts have also thought that augmented reality, a partially immersive but still interactive experience, will thrive in the world of branding and marketing.

We have already seen some of these predictions come true, but both still have significant potential. Here are 16 stats that demonstrate the growth and opportunities of AR and VR.

• Consumer and enterprise virtual reality market revenue is expected to reach $6.71 billion by the end of 2022 and $12.9 billion by 2024. (Statista)
• Augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality market size worldwide is expected to jump by more than 220 billion USD between 2021 and 2028. (Statista)
• 101.6 million people in the US will use AR in 2022. (eMarketer)
• 39% of media planners who use NFTs say they have the best ROI of any channel in their media mix. (HubSpot Blog)
• In a recent study, 33% of survey respondents understand the concept of the metaverse, 37% have heard of it but aren’t sure what it means, and 30% aren’t sure at all. (GlobalWebIndex)
• Over half of consumers are interested in participating in the metaverse, and 1 in 3 who haven’t heard of it still say they want to be involved.(GlobalWebIndex)
• It’s estimated that, by the end of 2022, virtual reality hardware and software sales will generate more than 6.4 billion USD in revenue. (Statista)
• 54% of people visit the metaverse to play games, 46% visit to virtually hang out with online friends, and 43% visit to virtually hang out with in-person friends. (HubSpot Blog)
• 36% of consumers interested in participating in the metaverse worry about how companies will use their personal data online. (GlobalWebIndex)
• Over the next five years, Gartner predicts that one in four people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse. (Gartner)
• Over the next five years, 30% of businesses will have some sort of product or service available in the metaverse. (Gartner)
• Over 1 in 5 people aged 24-54 are invested in crypto. (HubSpot Blog)
• People ages 18-24 are likely to buy NFTs to join a community. (HubSpot Blog)
• Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey found that 80% of participants say their industries will see new revenue streams from blockchain, digital assets, and/or cryptocurrency solutions. (Deloitte)
• Over 250 million Snapchatters use an AR feature on the app every single day. (Modern Retail)
• Creators on Snapchat have built over 2.5 million AR Lenses. (Modern Retail)

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is so prevalent in 2022 that many of us don’t even notice all the ways we interact with iton a given day. If you’re less familiar with AI, here are eight stats to keep in mind:

• Gartner forecasts that the worldwide artificial intelligence software market will reach $62 billion by the end of 2022. (Gartner)
• The business value of AI will reach $5.1 billion by 2025. (Gartner)
• 52% of marketers prioritize implementing marketing automation platforms to enhance their marketing efforts. (Demand Gen Report)
• 17% of marketers currently use automation or artificial intelligence as part of their marketing strategy. (HubSpot Blog)
• 1 in 5 consumers uses live chat or in-app chat daily. (Vonage)
• 71% of consumers say they would be happy to use a chatbot if it meant an improved customer experience. (Conversocial)
• A Drift survey reported that 54.8% of B2B professionals across various industries say they receive a greater volume of high-quality leads with chatbot tools. (Drift)
• 61% of people globally believe that automation could put people’s jobs at risk. (PWC)

Voice Assistants and Smart Speakers

While voice assistants are technically a segment of AI, they’ve become so prominent in the emerging media world that they deserve their own section of stats.

• Statista predicts that the number of digital voice assistants will reach 8.4 billion units by 2024, which is higher than the world’s total population. (Statista)
• The total number of Amazon Echo users is more than double that of Google Home. (eMarketer)
• 123.5 million adults in the US will use voice assistants at least once per month. (eMarketer)
• Almost all voice assistant users use the technology on a smartphone. (eMarketer)
• By 2023, digital voice ecommerce is expected to triple to an $80 billion industry. (Juniper Research)

Smart Devices and Appliances

Smart appliances and devices have significant potential to impact marketing. Although the space is still young, it’s providing interesting opportunities to bigger brands. 

As you can imagine, devices like smart TVs could provide great potential for content marketing and branded media. However, a more unique example of an appliance that could provide brand potential is a smart refrigerator.

“I’m excited to see how a smart fridge that can tell me when my avocados are about to spoil can be leveraged by a brand to give me information that might serve me in that particular information, says Amanda Zantal-Wiener, a senior content strategist who creates content for HubSpot that covers news and trends.

But, Zantal-Weiner’s excitement doesn’t end at smart-home appliances — she’s also fascinated by the world of smart cars.

“Until we start to see self-driving cars on the road, the idea of connected cars can also be used to help me do more than mindlessly scroll through my phone when I’m using a ride-hailing service, by serving as a distribution channel for real-time, relevant information during that trip. Everything is connected, and I’m excited to see which brands are able to adapt to that earlier on in a way that actually helps customers,” Zantal-Wiener explains.

Here are four key stats that highlight why you should keep these technologies on your radar.

• Smart home appliance user growth will more than double between 2020 and 2025, from 30.6 million to 64 million. (eMarketer)
• Smart TVs are the most popular smart home devices. (Statista)
• The average cost of a smart-home device is expected to drop by 52% by 2023 (Juniper Research)
• The percentage of US internet users using a smart appliance will increase to 21% by 2025. (eMarketer)

Navigating the Future of Marketing

Yes, creating voice assistant skills, leveraging AI, and building branded AR/VR experiences might be pretty inaccessible and costly to your company right now.

But, if you want to continue to innovate your brand or be a competitive marketer in the far future, you’ll want to keep up with how technology and marketing possibilities are evolving — you’ll be more prepared to adopt new technologies when they are accessible in the future.