New year, new tech

What’s going to be hot in technology in 2024? Matt Pluckrose reveals all

A very happy New Year to all readers – I hope you are fully recharged after the break. In this column we look ahead to what we believe to be trends for promotional technology in 2024.

The last year saw some interesting changes in consumer tech and consumers waking up to new ideas and product concepts that we believe will continue this year.

To put promotional technology into a global picture let’s review the total picture. The global consumer electronics market size was valued at $738.75 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from $773.4bn in 2023 to $1,239.4bn by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.97% during the forecast period. This goes to show how much we all use electronics in our work and private.

What’s trending?

Some product trends from last year will grow in 2024. For example, Apple finally moved to USB-C for its iPhone 15 following the switch to this industry norm on its Macs, iPads and most other devices.

Smart phones reached a record 97% penetration of the population. This mean an ongoing demand for good quality promotional technology to support this and brand recognition, which is a massive growth opportunity in 2024 after a few unstable years during and post-Covid.

E-payment

Electronic payment, which takes in Apple and Google Pay, was forecasted to be used by more than 700 million users globally. This technology uses NFC (Near Field Communication) to connect credit card details and a payment device.

As this technology grows, we see large marketing opportunity for it to be used to drive website traffic, create digital business cards and other marketing content distribution when contained inside the device. It’s branding on the ‘inside and outside’ of the promotional technology. Watch this trend grow in 2024 and keep your clients informed about the marketing opportunity first.

On the move

Travel is back in everyone’s mind and with expected holiday and business travel arrivals in 2023 to be 4.35 billion and rising back above 2019 levels in 2024 to 4.54 billion. Promotional technology for use when on the move is an obvious opportunity this year. Watch out for more complex and useful travel bags, solar back packs, anti-lost gear and of course travel adapters which will often charge all your devices whether laptops, phones or tablets.

Let’s connect

Bluetooth is the leading technology for connecting devices whether headphones, earbuds, or car entertainment, and 2024 sees the introduction of a new phase in this technology.

This new generation of wireless headphones that are more power-efficient, sound better, and support novel new features like being able to connect an ‘unlimited’ number of devices to a single source, are coming soon. That’s thanks to Bluetooth LE Audio, an umbrella term for a collection of new features for Bluetooth devices that the Bluetooth standards body has announced – watch this space for more detailed news on this in the next article.

Top sellers

Let’s look at some of the top selling consumer tech items last year: these included AirTags – Apple’s anti-lost device, Bluetooth earbuds and headphones, smart speakers, and smart wearables such as watches and health trackers.

There are also larger capacity power banks of up to 27000 mah to keep all your devices connected and Fast Charge powerful (60-90W)/micro/GAN USB-C driven AC power charging plugs. Now that Apple don’t supply these free, the demand is growing.

Of course, coupled with this is continued massive sales of laptops, tablets, e-readers. This is according to our own market sales and that of Amazon as the leading retailer of technology in the UK.

Greening of tech

We see these items continue to be popular in 2024 and the switch to more environment friendly materials will follow. Look out for recycled aluminium, steel, plastics, leather and of course natural materials like cork, bamboo, cement and FSC managed wood.

All in all, 2024 looks likely to be a bumper year for promotional electronics as this sector bounces back with new innovation, sustainable materials and of course your clients branding at the forefront of designers’ thinking. It’s definitely not an area to ignore as the dawn breaks on another year of promotional marketing. Make sure your clients remain tech savvy.

• Matt Pluckrose is managing director of Desktop Ideas