A New World at Your Fingertips

The "Innovation Team," an internal unit within Vizeum (part of Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network), analyzes startup trends to identify emerging technologies that offer solutions to challenges facing clients' businesses and society. Here are the 10 innovations they currently highlight as driving global business and communication.

At the end of 2014, we predicted that online shopping would shift from "click to purchase" to "one-touch purchase." In 2015, Apple Pay—which allows payment by simply holding an iPhone with registered credit cards near a store terminal—alongside Barclays' bPay for Android, was adopted by Transport for London (TFL) for its electronic payment system, propelling it into the mainstream.

Now, targeting consumers increasingly addicted to the pleasure of one-touch convenience, "one-touch native" apps are emerging. These apps offer not just a one-touch purchase process, but an entire one-touch experience.

Domino's Pizza has taken its "Instant Order" service—where posting an emoji on Twitter triggers pizza delivery—a step further by developing an "Easy Order Button" that places orders with a single press. Lucky Trip suggests the perfect vacation plan from curated activities in 300 cities worldwide with just a tap on its "Lucky" button. Netflix's "The Netflix Switch" customizes your environment with a single button press: dimming the lights, silencing your phone, ordering delivery, and launching your preferred content on screen.

What will 2016 bring?

Through such one-touch app operations, consumers will customize products and services to their specifications and automate daily routines. However, this trend won't last long. The development of contactless operation via short-range wireless communication technology is anticipated. Soon, the era of passing through ticket gates with a single touch will pass, replaced by smart readers that detect your approach from a distance. Furthermore, it's worth noting that technological development in the field of subdermal microchips is advancing in this area.