Trickle-down technology is the act in which technological advancements trickle into everyday lives. The internet was initially created in the 1960s for military purposes, but has now become imperative to the day-to-day workings of nearly every human being on the planet.
Hames Sharley’s Retail & Town Centres Portfolio Leader, Harold Perks, has recently produced a piece exploring how major technological advancements trickle down into our daily lives. Perks says that while he’s unsure as to what the next tech disruption will be specifically, it will most certainly be extraordinary.
The Large Hadron Collider, located near Geneva, is one of the world’s major scientific experiments. The Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) has been able to accelerate protons at each other at 99.999999 percent the speed of light. This could eventually lead to high-speed mass transportation systems, with the likes of Virgin and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies building and testing high speed capsules, which will revolutionise the way we travel. Perks believes that in the future that these advancements will eventually trickle down into our lives, similar to how Formula 1 technology influences the development of road vehicle technologies.
Perks says that Hyperloop technology may well benefit the retail industry enormously. Hyperloops could transport products from warehouses more easily between centres, while inter-state customers could benefit from faster delivery times from their online orders. Suburban retail-based assets in outer LGAs may also become more accessible through the use of Hyperloop portals, which will allow for lightning fast travel to these centres.
Perks believes that the impacts of global warming may lead to governments looking to reduce individual car ownership. He references how many cities with strong public transport systems are already seeing a decline in driver’s licences among young people, and how this may pose an issue for retail centres that lack public transport capabilities.
Drone delivery and other technologies are now filling the gap for those who may not be able to access shopping centres. Vicinity Centres in Queensland has already partnered with Google’s Wing delivery service to make grocery deliveries via drone, with Perks claiming that if the technology was partnered with a retail giant such as Westfields that shopping centres across Australia will start to drive the ‘clicks n bricks’ evolution. Drone delivery is more sustainable, and will encourage a move away from travelling to shops. The future may also allow for consumers to still travel to shops without a car, and make purchases and have them delivered via drone, as opposed to having to carry large items.
Perks says that with a number of venture capitalists across the globe investing billions in cleantech, this technology may trickle down earlier than anticipated. Hyperloop technology may well allow for shopping centres popping up in remote locations that run exclusively on renewable energy, and only accessible via Hyperloop. Further diversification may also come about, with retail owners potentially creating hotels, offices, health facilities, resorts, schools, universities, residential and aged-care options, creating small, sustainable community hubs that reduce the need for cars and travel.
Given the sheer impact of the internet and how it has shaped our lives in a fifty year period, it’s certainly exciting to think about what the next major tech disruption will be. Irrespective of whether or not it is in fact the Large Hadron Collider or Hyperloop technology, Perks says he believes that the retail sector will continue to be early adopters of the trickle-down effect of that technology, capitalising on the ability to improve customer experience, novelty, curiosity, and progress.
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