Five key consumer trends showcased at CES Asia in Shanghai – Part 1

In part one of a three part series, Mintel’s APAC Trends Analyst Philix Liu reports back from CES Asia in Shanghai, examining new trends and developments set to impact Asia Pacific and beyond…

Bear Kids’ Health in Mind

According to VivaLnk, the parent company of VivaBear, the eSkin smart thermometer, which is made of comfortable, breathable, and biocompatible materials, is specifically designed for kids. Enabled by NFC technology, the patch sends temperature data and alerts to parents’ smartphones for tracking and monitoring. By simply attaching it onto children’s skin, the patch can measure children’s temperature more comfortably, more accurately and resistance-free. Taking children’s temperature and monitoring their health can now be achieved in real time.

VivaLnk also has another patch-like wearable product, eSkin Tattoo, which was not displayed at CES Asia. With a similar mechanism to VivaBear, eSkin Tattoo stores personalised information such as business card information, social media information and even music tracks which can be accessed via smartphones using the latest NFC technology. eSkin Tattoo is expected to be used at events as a convenient way to connect brands to consumers and enable instant connections on social networks.

At Mintel, we have already spotted many recent and ongoing examples of innovations in wearable technologies that allow us to monitor our health instantly and in real time without being too obtrusive. VivaBear is another good example of the Mintel consumer trend Second Skin and is targeting a very important demographic segment.

Drink Water Intelligently

Following its crowdfunding project Gyenno Spoon in early May, Gyenno debuted its latest Internet-of-things innovation – the Gyenno Water Cup, which intelligently helps the user form a better water-drinking habit.

According to Gyenno at CES Asia today, Gyenno transforms the everyday object into a smart and connected device in many ways. Firstly, it measures the water temperature constantly and sends alerts by vibrating if the water is too cold or too hot. Secondly, the cup detects the room temperature and learns the user’s water drinking volume per day, and sends alerts to the user’s smartphone to encourage users to drink more. Users are able to set daily drinking goals to improve their health. The user can also set the “right” or preferred temperature for a more enjoyable water, tea or coffee-drinking experience.

Things as trivial as water cups are now being integrated into the smart home or Internet of Things on a grander scale. As outlined in Mintel’s consumer trend The Suite Life. we have spotted a number of different ways brands across the globe are adapting products, services and digital goods so that they sync with our homes, our appliances and our bodies.

The Ultimate Piano Machine

The ONE is a smart piano that can teach consumers to not only learn how to play the piano but also make it fun to learn and play.

According to the demonstration from 1Tai on the show floor, connected to an iPad Mini, the ONE smart piano guides students through a song with LED lights located along the top of the keyboard as well as the indication bar displayed on the iPad Mini screen. Various levels of difficulty and modes of learning methods are available for different stages of learning. Piano students can also practise, record and share their played songs with friends seamlessly on the internet. Without having to book an appointment with a piano teacher, students can now have the time and financial flexibility to enjoy learning how to play the piano.

The future of many industries is shifting towards a robotic era, where robots impersonate the roles of humans and provide the services that were previously done by people. As outlined in Mintel’s consumer trend Who Needs Humans, we have identified an ever increasing number or automated intelligent technologies replacing people – for better or for worse.

Fly Into the Future

EHang showed off its smartphone-controlled drone aircraft Ghost Drone at the show, which allows point-to-point flying, auto follow and tilt mode.

According to EHang’s demonstration of the Ghost Drone in action at CES Asia, the aircraft can be easily controlled and accurately piloted with an intuitive user interface via a smartphone app. The drone can be tilted left or right by motioning the smartphone to tilt. Largely used for aerial filming for commercial use, the future of drone technology is expected to tap into ultra-fast goods delivery, air quality monitoring and personal photography and filming.

The application of drone technology for ultra-fast delivery service is becoming a major trend, especially as time is of the essence for many people.  As highlighted in Mintel’s consumer trend FSTR HYPR, elsewhere, along with drones, we have seen many different ways to push time to the limit.

Safety First

Eachpal showcased its location-based smartwatch SmartUFO that is made for family safety.

According to Eachpal’s exhibitor’s demonstration, in order to precisely locate the wearer’s location, SmartUFO utilises a combination of Wi-Fi, GPS and cell of origin technologies and is enabled with indoor targeting. Designed for both children and the elderly, SmartUFO is able to set up a geo-fencing parameter, track fitness and health data and detect and alert if the wearer falls over. The SmartUFO is hoped to provide a tracking/health/safety all-in-one wearable solution for vulnerable demographic groups.

Safety is of course a valuable commodity to people and so innovations which work to future-proof the safety of loved ones are set to do well. Mintel’s Prepare for the Worst trend explores how brands around the world are taking a variety of preventative measures by applying new technology.

Based in Shanghai, Philix Liu is Mintel’s Trends analyst for the APAC region. He publishes innovations, creative marketing campaigns, new designs and other trends related content happening currently. He also helps inspire brands and agencies onsite to innovate in the APAC region. Before joining Mintel, Philix held a Strategic Planner role at an advertising agency in Shanghai and a qualitative research role at TNS in Beijing. He’s also gained digital marketing experience as an in-house marketer in Boston.