Robots, crypto and hits on your wallet: Report flags trends for 2022

Expect to see robots disinfecting hotels, the rise of electric hire car fleets, a new augmented reality play from tech titan Apple, more drones delivering goods, and a US crackdown on Bitcoin next year.

Those trends, and more, have been flagged in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) annual industry report, which details risks facing seven industry sectors in 2022: automotive, consumer goods and retail, energy, finance, healthcare, telecoms, and tourism.

The travel industry faces another tough year ahead, according to the report, with the lucrative business travel segment struggling to lift off and holidaymakers left to navigate confusing border controls and variations in vaccine passports.

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Travellers will shell out more cash next year, the report warned, as airlines battered by the pandemic face higher fuel prices and move to comply with climate-change regulations. Airport closures and airline mergers were also predicted.

The global supply chain mess, which has caused chaos at ports on the world's busiest shipping routes, will continue into 2022, the report said, with spiralling warehouse and freight costs passed on to consumers.

Interest rates are forecast to rise in the EIU's Industries in 2022 report, with Federal Reserve tipped to potentially raise rates twice in the year, which may impact housing and stock markets and increase bad debt.

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Tourism

The report predicted international airline travel would recover "some ground" next year but fail to return to 2019 levels.

Hotels and airlines will continue to miss business travellers, with this segment "likely to remain depressed".

Passengers will face varying border controls and requirements for vaccine passports, which will make travel confusing and frustrating.

At airports, passengers will encounter an increasing level of biometric boarding using face-recognition technology, contactless check-in and automated baggage handling services.

"Hotel chains will also adopt some of these technologies," the report said.

"Especially contactless services and payments and disinfectant robots."

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Automotive

Global sales of new vehicles will rise by 7.5 per cent in 2022, taking them back past 2019 levels, the report said, with the recovery led by Asia and North America.

But the thirst for new cars would heap pressure on automotive manufacturers, with many vehicle makers struggling to meet demand because of continuing supply-chain disruptions.

The report tipped global sales of new electric vehicles to "soar" and rise by 51 per cent, as new emissions rules force carmakers to make "far-reaching decisions about their fossil-fuel models".

The world's major car rental companies will make continued investments in electric vehicles.

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Technology and telecoms

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet company is expected to launch into the Indian market by the end of 2022.

While of the world's 60 major telecoms markets, 16 will launch 5G services in 2022, including Russia, India and Mexico.

Cyberattacks on governments and private companies will continue, sometimes knocking out core infrastructure and supply chains, and the tech sector will face an ongoing semiconductor shortage, making production a strategic priority for the US, China and EU.

Meanwhile, the report said the rebranding of Facebook's holding company into Meta "points to the growing importance of extended reality" in the tech space, with augmented and virtual reality to underpin the next computing platforms.

"Devices such as the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses have already hit the market, and we expect more to do so in 2022," the report said, "including the first major AR device from Apple."

Finance and crypto

The expected post-pandemic recovery is good news for many financial firms, the report said, provided they are not exposed to bad debt.

"Regulatory uncertainties in China will throw up challenges in the world's fastest-growing market for financial services," the report said, while predicting the rise of green finance post-COP26.

The report said "crypto companies face further hurdles" in early 2022, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission gears up to take a closer look at this volatile industry.

"Gary Gensler, the new head of the securities supervisor ... has hinted at stricter enforcement of existing rules related to issuance and trading of securities, which is very likely to impact bitcoin and other digital currencies," the report noted.

Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China will introduce a digital currency, e-CNY, that it will operate in 2022, with the world to get a look at how this could work at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

"Athletes and visitors, as well as merchants selling goods and services, are slated to use the new e-CNY at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February."

Consumer goods

Global retail sales will recover to pre-pandemic levels in volume terms, the report said, but the ongoing COVID-19 threat, inflation and slow job growth would all pose challenges.

As lockdowns around the world lift, online shopping will grow at a slower pace, but still account for 17 per cent of global retail sales.

Next year would see further proliferation of autonomous robots and drones to make deliveries and speed up logistics.

Energy

Global energy consumption will rise by 2.2 per cent, with the report predicting all types of energy, except nuclear, to benefit.

It won't all be roses for energy companies, though, with many needing to self-reflect and change because of pressure from government, public and investors to cut carbon emissions.

Healthcare

Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 will remain the big priority in 2022, "however, healthcare systems will also need to start tackling a backlog of non-coronavirus care".