To start with, I am afraid that 2020 is the decade that we will always remember. Next ten years will most probably determine the fate of our World. Whether we accept it or not – we are part of this equation.

Still the year has started and there are few areas that will really matter, I think.

The first thing that is clear is the transformation of retail and the migration of consumers from offline to online. Not massive yet but visible and significantly changing the way marketers perceive their communication strategies.

The transition of retailers into retail media offerings will continue to expand beyond the mass merchant players. Food and beverage ecommerce sales will vastly grow in 2020, fueled by enhanced omnichannel solutions from traditional retailers like WallMart or Carrefour.

Marketplaces will continue to double down on unique content, livestreaming and live experiences to capture consumers into their ecosystems, like Amazon having Taylor Swift headline the 2019 “Prime Day” concert and offering exclusive access to popular TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Creative solutions will boost content and turn ecommerce into real communication channels. Inclusion of real-time data sharing by traditional brands will reframe their presence and redefine Category Leadership status. Agility and convenience will help winning consumers – aided by ‘planet responsible approach’. There is no question that consumers will continue moving to mobile. If we turn to them to guide us, it is crystal clear that some of the future of storytelling are formats natively built for mobile. That will change the way we communicate in ecommerce – following the way we already communicate in the social media.

Aside from that or simultaneously we see a sharp rise in people disconnecting for purpose. Not a massive rejection of tech but context based opting to turn off data, avoid a screen or disable notifications.  Led by Gen Z and younger Y it will stimulate the creation of platforms and app developers that will propose intuitive human and lifestyle centric tools to empower people in this quest. Further raise of startups dealing with the challenge is inevitable.

And finally data usage and the ability to properly turn it into intelligence will become the key differentiator in all of the communication and marketing area.

The next decade will be a combination of transparency and their impact on how marketers go to market, and the effect that will have on the ad agency business model.

Also given the exponentially growing notion of responsibility for the entire planet.