Activate Releases Sixth Annual Report on Future of Technology & Media in 2020

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Oct 23, 2019, 09:30 ET

Disruptive Trends Reshape the Year Ahead

SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Activate, the leading management consulting firm for media, technology, entertainment, and sports businesses, today released the Activate Technology and Media Outlook 2020, a comprehensive annual report on the state of the Internet, technology, media, and entertainment industries. The report, delivered during the Wall Street Journal Tech Live Conference by Activate CEO Michael J. Wolf, is available on SlideShare and www.activate.com.

In the sixth annual report, Activate focuses on topics such as the next era of social networking, digital marketplace models disrupting industries, Super Users, the networked body, and more. The report is based on groundbreaking proprietary research.

The results prove the following trends throughout the industry, including:

Social Splinter: It's no longer one size fits all. A great deal of time and attention that people are spending on social media is going to shift to smaller networks. Time spent on all of the major social networks is increasing, but it's growing much faster on networks such as LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Twitter than it is on Facebook. As people seek more focused, authentic, and trusted connections, they will find multiple networks tailored to the things they care about most, whether it be gaming, knitting, or cannabis. By 2023, Activate forecasts that the average user in the U.S. will use over 10 networks, up from nearly 6 today.
eCommerce: eCommerce will continue to fuel global retail growth, nearly doubling to reach over $6T by 2023. The forces propelling this growth will include faster and broader delivery options, major social media platforms functioning as digital storefronts, and renting and resale. Winners in eCommerce will shrink the divide between digital and physical across the consumer journey.
Digital Marketplaces: Digital marketplaces are continuing to change how services are transacted, and there is tremendous growth ahead. Online service marketplaces, driven by apps such as Airbnb, Uber, DoorDash, and Upwork, will grow much faster than their overall industries and will create entirely new inventory. Younger consumers will drive the shift. Once marketplace users start using a marketplace in one vertical, they continue to use them in others as well, leading to exponential growth for adoption of digital marketplaces.
Video Gaming: Video gaming will continue to be one of the largest and fastest growing global media segments, reaching over $170B by 2023 -- as large as the music industry, film industry, and subscription video market combined. The future of gaming will be cloud gaming and streaming, through which gamers can finally play together on a global scale across all devices: mobile, PC, and console.
Esports: Esports is here to stay. Esports will soon rival major traditional sports in the U.S. in both audience size and revenue, which is expected to approach $7B globally by 2023.
Sports Betting: The amount wagered on sports in the U.S. will grow from $13B to $149B by 2023. Wagering on sports will begin to take the shape of financial trading markets, with an infinite number of possible wagers extending well beyond the outcome of a game. When fully legalized, institutional investors will participate in the sports betting market and employ sophisticated data sets and AI to gain an edge.
Networked Body: New consumer-facing digital solutions will revolutionize how we track, manage, and improve our physical health and fitness. Increasing interest in wellness will fuel the growth of this sector, which will become a $16B U.S. market by 2023.
Digital Consumer Finance: Digital-first consumer financial services, such as online bank Revolut, insurer Lemonade, and lender Affirm, will give traditional finance companies a literal run for their money. This will be one of the highest growth segments in technology as it continues to attract significant interest from the investor community.

"This year, we decided to not only focus this Outlook on the year ahead, but also to take a look back at previous predictions and how they shaped the latest and greatest trends, including the boom in AI, betting, and gaming," said Michael J. Wolf, Activate CEO and Co-Founder. "The forecasts shared today will profoundly impact technology and media industries as we approach 2020 and beyond."

About Activate
Activate is a next generation consulting firm serving technology and media companies. Michael J. Wolf, the former President and COO at MTV Networks, founded the company in 2010. Activate works with CEOs and senior management teams to drive innovation and position companies for growth. In addition to helping companies with pricing, go-to-market, and digital strategy, Activate creates new media products and companies inside large businesses. The firm is known for issuing its annual Activate Outlook report on the state of technology, media, and entertainment industries and is based in New York and San Francisco. For more information, please visit Activate.com.

SOURCE Activate