IoT Drives E-Commerce, Organised Retail Market with Connected Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) opens an entirely new way of doing business, transforming the ways we lived for nearly two decades. The IoT is a communication paradigm that foresees a near future in which everyday life object will be interconnected and able to communicate with one another and end users. 

The IoT is a network of interconnected computing devices, embedded with electronics, software and sensors and ability to transfer information over a network without needing the interaction of human-to-human or human-to-computer. It is the concept of connecting any of our devices with an on and off switch to the Internet, be it smartphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices or a jet engine of an aeroplane or the drill of an oil rig.

North America is expected to lead the IoT in the retail industry driven by the high market stake of e-commerce and organised retail, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific as second and third largest market respectively, according to IndustryARC findings. In Asia-Pacific region, developing nations such as China and India are estimated to have the fastest growth.

In a report, titled Roundup Of Internet Of Things Forecasts And Market Estimates 2016, Ingram Cloud director of global cloud product management Louis Columbus mentioned that according to IndustryARC research, the global Industrial IoT (IIOT) market is expected to reach $123.89 billion by 2021.

Smart cities is a concept frequently associated with the IoT, and expected to have a $1.7 trillion annual economic impact in cities by 2025. The smart city market is the interconnection of various industry and service sectors, like smart governance, smart mobility, smart utilities, smart buildings and other. These sectors have been considered in the European Smart Cities project.

However, latency in mobile networks confines IoT applications. Hence, telecommunication firms are working on the next generation of wireless connectivity - 5G - to alter the usage of our cell phones, increase efficiency and more connected device.

In May this year, South Korean electronics company Samsung introduced its first IoT solution, dubbed Exynos i T200, to deliver the performance needed for upcoming IoT use cases. Boasting a feature that avoids illegal copying, the tech giant said that the solution supports Wi-Fi connectivity while providing improved security. Later in May, the company introduced, SAMSUNG ARTIK, a smart IoT solution that will allow firms to provide more secure offerings and services.

With billions of devices being interconnected, security oftentimes becomes a big issue opening up companies to more security threats. Nonetheless, financial institutions are using IoT solution to usher in a new era and offer an opportunity to expand beyond payment cards and point-of-sale (POS) devices.

In February 2017, payment giant Visa entered into a collaboration with IBM to enable any device to carry payment credentials and perform financial transactions. To drive innovation in the payment industry, Visa recently opened its new facility in London to feature live demonstration, including IoT applications in connected car and connected home environments. Similarly, German communication technology firm T-Systems partnered with Wirecard to develop its IoT shopping solution.

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