These days, fulfilling customer needs in real time is necessary to sustain competitive parity. But soon, “real time” won’t be good enough; brands will need to fulfill needs before customers are even aware of them.
Consider a world where an Uber pulls up automatically because it knows you’ve got a flight in two hours; your fitness app ships a new pair of running shoes without you ordering them, as it can detect that you’ve put in too many miles on your existing pair. Or, your vehicle automatically plots a traffic-free route because it knows you are likely headed home after a day at the office, alerting you to the nearest gas station given the pending snowstorm.