This year, the COVID-19 pandemic really took the world by storm. Many businesses were stuck in unfavourable situations. On top of that, plenty of people lost their jobs due to the pandemic and the overall lifestyle changed.
Nowadays, while it may seem like things are slowly returning to normal, they’re still not as they once were. With so many changes, people found some other ways to do things they were used to. The majority of those changes and innovations were made possible by modern technology. That being said, let’s see what are some technology trends to watch out for during the pandemic.
Online shopping
This year, we had a chance to notice a serious spike in online shopping. In previous years, people mostly bought clothes, gadgets and similar trinkets online. However, nowadays the world of online shopping expanded considerably. Now it’s possible to buy virtually anything you can think of online. So, it’s safe to say that online shopping evolved from “nice-to-have” to “must-have”. Particularly during the global pandemic practising social distancing and limiting your outings is of high importance. And online shopping allows us to stay compliant as much as possible.
Robot deliveries
On the similar note, even though things can be bought online, the delivery of items needed to be done in person. That is until now. Nowadays, more and more companies are offering contactless or robot delivery options. Here, the goods are being delivered to the predetermined location instead of directly into the persons hands. This new way of deliver does not only limit social contact. It also makes it easier for the receiver to take all the necessary precautions and sanitize the goods before they bring them in. Moreover, major fast-food chains and food delivery services already implemented this type of delivery. What’s best, these delivery robots are specifically designed to maintain the optimal temperature of the goods they’re delivering.
Digital and contactless payments
Since cash is one of the dirtiest things in the world, people are heavily advised to avoid using it as much as possible. In the majority of countries in the world, contactless and digital payment options are already available. But nowadays, contactless digital payments are not only being a more convenient option. Instead, they are the recommended payment method to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Thanks to digital payment options people can nowadays not only purchase things online, but pay utility bills as well. Digital payments and online banking brought another perk to the table. With so many people and businesses receiving some type of financial aid, they made this option more seamless as well. So, it’s safe to assume that we’ll only see more and more businesses adopt this practice in the future.
Online entertainment
The global pandemic and the uncertainty that followed took a toll on many people’s mental health. So, people largely turned to online entertainment to help them take their minds off of things for even a moment. For instance, the world of online casinos saw a real spike in the number of new players since the beginning of 2020. Not only that, but various casino review sites also started receiving more traffic. On top of that, people realised that some of these online entertainment options offer so much more than just fun. For instance, more and more people started looking for ways to boost their income, so some of them turned to casino affiliate programs. But for anyone looking to join such a program, we strongly advice to research casino affiliate program reviews. This way you’ll know if the program is offering what you’re looking for.
Video conferencing tools
Video conferencing tools are not new tech by any means. However, their increased usage since the beginning of the pandemic really made them improve their offer. One of the best examples of this is Zoom. This platform experienced a huge boom is usage since the beginning of 2020. And since nobody anticipated such interest, the platform originally was not designed to support so many active users at the same time. However, after figuring out how to fix the issue, Zoom is nowadays one of the most widely-used video conferencing tools. Such tools were more than welcomed in all social aspects, including education, as well business and personal relations.
Distance learning
In the end, we simply can’t talk about technology trends to look out for without mentioning distance learning. As of mid-April, more that 190 countries closed off their schools and universities. This affected more than 1-57 billion students. Online courses became the only method of teaching. Of course, needless to say that such a shift brought forth numerous obstacles for both students and teachers alike. However, thanks to various modern tech solutions, all of these obstacles were quite easy to overcome.
One of many few good things about the global pandemic is that it happened in the age of modern tech. Thanks to these solutions and breakthroughs, people can still do the majority of things we are used to. The only thing that’s truly different is the approach.
