Dr. Karndee Leopairote, Chief Advisor at FutureTales Lab, which serves as a research unit of MQDC, said: “A research team at FutureTales Lab by MQDC has highlighted important factors and issues, and then analyzed them by using the web of impact model to identify possible impacts on the future society after the COVID-19 outbreak. There are 10 emerging trends for Thailand to watch and react in various areas, including lifestyles, residential behaviors, application of technology, travels, and healthcare, as well as the overview of government policies.”
Top 10 trends from FutureTales Lab by MQDC are as follows:
1.Social Structure – A new social structure will be released with common rules and regulations to be enforced globally. These will be universal and focus mainly on health and security. Backed by the emergence of IOT infrastructure and systems, more people are increasingly attracted and they are likely to put more importance to health and living quality. People tend to sacrifice personal data and privacy in return for greater protection of health, properties, and the well-being of their families.
2.Resilience & Agile by Force – Although confidence and reliability between individuals will tend to be lowered after the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborations between organizations and industries are expected to increase. The government sector, however, might take the longest time to adapt to changes and will be more subject to adjustments. Fundamental laws will be altered. Online meeting/conference will also be made available and legitimate. This crisis might lead to a drastic, but positive change in the economic landscape. It means government and business organizations can take advantage of the current situation by providing their staff and workers with free online training, or redesigning a new work process that allows for the reduction of the use of the organizational resources.
3.Global Emotional Crisis & Touchless Society – Emotional crisis will be more widespread among people dealing with difficulties in the situation that they are not able to live a normal life. It can lead to the loss of balance of thoughts and emotions. For example, the younger generation is likely to grow up switching from the traditional way of greeting (handshaking or hugging) to another form. Due to increasing social and physical distancing, emotional health concerns such as lack of attentiveness and lowered sense of care will be more noticeable. Co-working space might be transformed into sharing space with boundary or more dedicated space for individual use. Contactless space will be more prevalent and generally equipped with voice recognition and AR.
4.Public Space/Indoor Technology with Health Factor – Due to lack of public confidence and rising safety concerns when going out to public places, related businesses like large shopping malls need to design more reliable reactive measures and develop tools to make consumers feel more comfortable and safe. Sanitizing systems have become as much important as air conditioning, water supply, and electricity systems. Clean air quality standards in buildings must be applied.
5.Prioritizing Space Over Convenience – The way consumers make buying decisions when buying a place to live is changing. In the past, things were packed in metropolitan locations along the rail routes, which were identified as the key decision factors. But with the current outbreak that influences the way people work in the future, office workers can work from home without the need to go to the office every day. As a result of this, when making a house-buying decision, the house does not need to be in urban areas or no longer a small condominium in a CBD. Now residential locations can be in a suburban area and provide larger space with a garden, or by transforming a vacation home into a residential one.
6.Everything At Home – Due to the current virus outbreak, the economy can be developed at home. This causes changes in the way people live their life as they are more accustomed to staying home, working and doing different activities at home. Therefore, the requirements are changing. From a small place to live, people are likely to demand a larger space. They want more space to facilitate a variety of activities. No exception for a condominium unit, it must provide enough space for cooking, work from home and exercise.
7.Proactive Healthcare Platform – With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world, platforms for healthcare and disease prevention have become increasingly important. City infrastructure, buildings, and houses need to be equipped with physical and mental healthcare platforms as a fundamental service.
8.Last-mile & next hour logistic – Consumer behaviors are changing. These bring about rising demand for short-distance transport within a radius of 1 km as well as quick delivery within 1 hour.
9.Wearable Device – Prioritizing Health & Safety Over Privacy – The growth of wearable electronic devices is predictable. Consumers tend to sacrifice personal data in return for greater security. For example, there will be more applications getting deeper access into personal data, knowing our locations on a real-time basis and evaluating the risk we are facing. Safety and privacy will be a matter for consideration.
10. Super Food & Food Supply Chain Transparency To Personal Food Supply – For most consumers, they formerly ate food for psychological functions such as taste and socializing. However, from now on they will be more aware of nutritional factors and health benefits. They must make sure that all food ingredients are up to standards of safety and hygiene. More and more consumers have started their small city farms.
