How IoT Is Transforming Consumer Business and Manufacturing

IHS Markit forecasts that the global count of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will reach approximately 75.4 billion by 2025, signalling a near‑universal presence of connected hardware across both industrial and consumer landscapes.

In this piece, Jonathan Wilkins, Marketing Director at EU Automation—a leading supplier of legacy industrial components—shares insights on how IoT is reshaping consumer‑facing enterprises and the lessons manufacturers can glean.

IoT hardware permeates our daily lives—from fitness trackers that monitor heart rate, steps, and nutrition to niche gadgets like the Quirky Egg Minder, which tracks egg inventory and expiry dates. When selected strategically, IoT solutions can deliver tangible benefits across sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, and urban planning.

Changing consumer

Emerging data indicates that millennials will soon surpass baby boomers as the largest cohort of high‑spending consumers, projected to generate roughly $4 trillion (€3.43 trillion) in annual spend by 2020. Businesses must strategise how to engage this digitally native demographic effectively.

Having been raised in a digital era, millennials readily embrace new technologies. Companies that integrate IoT into their service offerings can better connect with this audience and sustain a competitive edge.

Advertising

As you navigate social feeds, you'll notice advertisers leveraging sophisticated algorithms that analyze browsing patterns to deliver hyper‑personalised ads.

With the proliferation of IoT devices, advertisers can tap into real‑time data streams. For instance, a fitness tracker that senses you’re heading to a supermarket could trigger a timely voucher for that store.

Manufacturers can deploy analogous AI‑driven monitoring to track equipment health, identifying anomalies before they lead to costly downtime and enabling proactive maintenance.

Hospitality

In hospitality, outstanding service hinges on personalization and operational efficiency. Hotels can deploy smart sensors that record guests’ lighting and temperature preferences, automatically maintaining those settings while simultaneously optimizing energy use by adjusting artificial lighting and HVAC in response to natural daylight.

Manufacturers can similarly leverage sensor data to boost plant efficiency, fine‑tuning electrical and water consumption, thereby cutting utility costs and enhancing overall sustainability.

Retail

With e‑commerce growing, retailers must harness technology to enrich the in‑store experience. A 2017 Zebra Retail Vision study found that 70 % of global retailers are prepared to implement IoT solutions aimed at elevating customer engagement.

Smart sensors enable retailers to map customer foot traffic, allowing dynamic adjustments to store layouts and product placement. Additionally, 87 % of retailers anticipate adopting mobile point‑of‑sale (MPOS) systems, empowering staff to process payments anywhere within the premises.

OEMs can implement comparable IoT frameworks to streamline production, refine inventory management, enhance quality assurance, and track critical documentation—thereby accelerating delivery and elevating product quality.

Up and running

Deploying IoT across these domains can boost customer satisfaction, but because these devices sit directly in the consumer experience, reliability and performance are paramount.

Whether in retail or manufacturing, minimizing downtime is critical. Implementing predictive maintenance—continuous monitoring of equipment health—can preempt failures and reduce costly interruptions.

Proactive parts procurement, sourced from specialists like EU Automation, allows engineers to replace obsolete or degraded components before a fault escalates, restoring full functionality. Smart devices—whether a fitness smartwatch or an egg‑tracking tray—provide timely data that drives these decisions.

Businesses that invest in IoT solutions gain the actionable insights required to prioritize customer needs and maintain a competitive stance in the evolving digital marketplace.

Author: Jonathan Wilkins, Marketing Director at EU Automation, a specialist in legacy industrial parts.