Marc Saltzman is a self-proclaimed technology evangelist. As a super popular and respected freelance journalist for over 25 publications including USA Today and Costco Connection Magazine, Marc covers innovation in consumer tech and translates what he calls ‘geek speak’ into ‘street speak.’ Today on The Voice of Retail, I catch up with Marc and we get the scoop on the latest trends in consumer technology. First, Marc gives a highlight reel of the recent CES conference - a show that has been the global stage for technology innovation for over 50 years. Then, we look at what to expect this year in the tech and electronics retail space.
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Marc Saltzman is a self-proclaimed technology evangelist. As a super popular and respected freelance journalist for over 25 publications including USA Today and Costco Connection Magazine, Marc covers innovation in consumer tech and translates what he calls ‘geek speak’ into ‘street speak.’
Today on The Voice of Retail, I catch up with Marc and we get the scoop on the latest trends in consumer technology. First, Marc gives a highlight reel of the recent CES conference - a show that has been the global stage for technology innovation for over 50 years. Then, we look at what to expect this year in the tech and electronics retail space.
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven’t already, be sure and click subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week, and check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail podcast, the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast. Last but not least, if you are into Barbeque, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbeque, with new episodes each and every week!
I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company & Maven Media, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co! Have a safe week everyone!
Marc Saltzman has reported on the high-tech industry since 1996 as a freelance journalist, author, lecturer, consultant, and radio and TV personality.
His specialties lie in consumer electronics, computers, Internet trends and social media, business tech, interactive entertainment, and future trends.
Along with his weekly syndicated column with Gannett and USAToday.com, Marc currently contributes to more than 30 prominent publications, including USA Today (the most read newspaper in the U.S.), Yahoo, Costco Connection (U.S. and Canada), MSN, Toronto Star, Metro, Media Planet, WatchMojo, Rogers Connected, Common Sense Media, and Homefront.
Marc Saltzman was one of the first journalists in the world to break open the MP3 phenomenon in late 1997 on CNN.com. He correctly predicted this controversial audio file format would revolutionize the recording industry.
Marc has written 16 books. His latest is Apple Watch For Dummies (Wiley).
Marc also writes and hosts "Gear Guide," a technology-focused video that runs nationally across Canada at Cineplex Entertainment movie theaters. It is seen by a "captive" 7 million people per month.
Marc is also a frequent guest on CNN, Headline News, FOX, Global and CTV. Marc has also made appearances on NBC's "Today Show," QVC's Saturday Q" and the "CBS Early Show."
Marc is one of the busier public speakers on the circuit, covering a wide range of keynote topics including the future, tech and education, how tech is changing retail, fintech trends, keeping kids safe in the digital age, STEM studies, and more.
Finally, Marc also hosts 5 radio shows. "Tech It Out" is syndicated to 248 stations in the U.S. via the Radio America network. In Canada, there's "Tech Talk with Marc Saltzman," a weekly hour-long program on Toronto's NewsTalk 1010 (Bell Media), Montreal's CJAD 800 (Bell Media), and Winnipeg's 680 CJOB (Corus).
www.marcsaltzman.com
tech@marcsaltzman.com
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide. Michael was recently added to ReThink Retail’s prestigious Top 100 Global Retail Influencers for a second year in 2022.
Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Most recently, Michael launched Conversations with CommerceNext, a podcast focussed on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers - all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major podcast platforms. Michael is also the producer and host of the “Last Request Barbeque” channel on YouTube where he cooks meals to die for and influencer riches.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Voice of Retail I'm your host Michael Leblanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Marc Saltzman is a self-proclaimed technology evangelist. As a super popular and well-respected freelance journalist for over 25 publications, including USA Today and Costco Connection Magazine. Marc covers innovation in consumer tech and translates what he calls 'geek speak' into 'street speak'.
Today on The Voice of Retail, I catch up with Marc and we get the scoop on the latest trends in consumer technology. First, Marc gives us a highlight reel of the recent CES conference, a show that has been the global stage for technology innovation for over 50 years. Then we look at what to expect this year in the tech and electronics retail space.
Marc Saltzman 00:45
And I didn't find there was one big trend as we've seen in previous years. Where one year it's like, okay, it's all about TVs and.
Michael LeBlanc 00:52
Right.
Marc Saltzman 00:52
Another year, it's like all right, smart home gear, that's it. But it was kind of a, a, a real mix, a healthy mix of various consumer electronics, trends and products to populate those trends. So yeah, some of the big ones were still home entertainment and smart home. Automotive tech increasingly plays a, a key role maybe not as relevant to your listeners.
Michael LeBlanc 01:12
Let's listen in now. Marc, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing?
Marc Saltzman 01:17
Hey, I'm great, Michael, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
Michael LeBlanc 01:19
You and I were sharing off mic. I think the last time we saw each other in real life, we were passing ships in the night in the hallway at CP24 or something like that. That was a while ago, right the.
Marc Saltzman 01:28
IRL, as they say, in real life. That was yeah, pre-pandemic, for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 01:32
You know, it's funny, like, I was on CP24 this week, actually. And it's funny because, you know, at least from my perspective, as a, as an industry expert, you know, you come on and you get a few seconds or a minute or two. And it used to be you know, you spend a couple hours to get a minute or two. Now, I gotta say, you know, I flip on the camera, you say basically the same stuff, and I'm in and out of there in five minutes. So, you know, maybe it's a bit of an upside to me, you know.
Marc Saltzman 01:54
There are some advantages, yeah. You know, I, I agree. On one hand, it's more convenient, because I don't have to drive to the station and find parking and, you know, and all that. But, you know, doing it from my home office is certainly more convenient. And I'm still gonna use a little bit of makeup. Not gonna lie. But, it's, it's just that I'm doing it myself instead of somebody else.
Michael LeBlanc 01:55
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 01:59
Powdering me up. And then yeah, you're right. It's, it's a quick and dirty kind of thing. But yeah, it's fun. Whether it's virtual or in person, I do miss some of that. I've only done a couple of in person hits since the start of the pandemic. And I do miss that. But there are some benefits to staying home, that's for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 02:30
Well, you miss that kind of like everything else, like conferences, like whatever trade shows, like whatever. You miss that kind of personal cues and interaction. We're all missing that.
Marc Saltzman 02:37
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 02:37
But hopefully, this, this too shall pass. Well, listen, thanks for joining me on the podcast and you're a very familiar name to Canadians. In fact, people from around North America, you've done, you've done so well. In fact, I've, I've.
Marc Saltzman 02:48
Oh, thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 02:49
Seen you in one of my prior stops in the career at the shopping channel. I mean you've been just, you know, you've, you've done such a great job. But for those who might know the name, but maybe not of know all about you. Get just give us a, a bit of background of your professional personal journey, and what you do and, and the different places that you that you participate in and broadcast and, and how you spend your time.
Marc Saltzman 03:10
Yeah, thank you again, for the kind words. So, I for the last 25 years, I've been a technology evangelist. I like to preach about the benefits of technology. Not to say that there aren't some downsides, because there certainly are, some side effects. But, you know, my most of my work is I'm a freelance journalist. So, I write for about 25 different publications. I'm a weekly contributor to USA Today, it's probably my biggest gig in terms of circulation. And I've been doing that for 23 years, every week. I write for AARP in the US and Zoomer in Canada. So that's for retirees, seniors.
Michael LeBlanc 03:48
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 03:49
Um, many of which are not retired, but they are seniors. I write for Costco Connection Magazine.
Michael LeBlanc 03:55
Yeah, I see you in there. I see you in there all the time.
Marc Saltzman 03:56
And funny enough, yeah [inaudible]. In the States it's now the number one monthly magazine.
Michael LeBlanc 04:00
Come on.
Marc Saltzman 04:00
In terms of circulation and readership. Yeah, crazy. Yeah, I.
Michael LeBlanc 04:04
Crazy is not the [inaudible]. But nobody reads the TV Guide anymore. Remember when we used to get the TV guy to a deliver that little pocket book.
Marc Saltzman 04:10
Yeah, some, somehow, it's still very successful. I'm on Costco TVs as well in the states, like it's in a loop but. Educating people about tech, you know, at, at the point of sale.
Michael LeBlanc 04:20
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 04:20
To just make sure that they have a more of an educated you know, purchase, right, because it can be very overwhelming. And that leads me to what like what my sort of secret sauce is if you will. And that's breaking down 'geek speak' into 'street speak'. So that's what I try to do. As, as you can tell, I write for very mainstream publications. I don't write for techie magazines anymore. I used to write for Wired and cnet.com and all that. And I really love seeing that light bulb go off with it, whether it's through a reader. You know, based on their, their email feedback or what have you. The radio shows that I produce and host in Canada in the US. In the States, it's called 'Tech It Out', in Canada, it's called 'Tech Talk'. Or with the TV work that I do. I just love being able to demystify tech and not just celebrate it.
Michael LeBlanc 05:02
So, take me back a, a couple of clicks in your, in your history. Is that something you always want to do? Did you grow up wanting to write and be a journalist? Or is it something that found you like. Where, where was that intersection point?
Marc Saltzman 05:12
Yeah, so that would be the latter. I had no interest in tech. I liked video games like any other young, teenage boy. But um no, I went to U of T. I went to University of Toronto for psych only as a backup because I thought I was going to be the drummer of a heavy metal band. And I was and it helped pay my way through university. It helped to pay my tuition. But I was the drummer and manager of a band called Remedy. It was like hard rock not heavy metal, it's kind of like the cult, if you will.
Michael LeBlanc 05:38
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 05:39
And yeah, we had a lot of fun. We opened up to The Tragically Hip. And.
Michael LeBlanc 05:42
Wow.
Marc Saltzman 05:43
The Goo Goo Dolls we played with and, Bare, Barenaked Ladies and Our Lady peace. So, it was fun. But after I had graduated when I was 24, 23, rather, and just realizing okay, maybe this music thing, I've been giving it a go for so long, it maybe not for me. And I knew I wasn't going to be a psychologist, even though that's what I went to, did my undergrad degree in. I, I realized that if I wrote about video games, I would get them for free. So, it was a means to an end.
So, I convinced a local Toronto newspaper called Toronto Computes to let me review video games, computer games, for them. And that way I didn’t have to pay for them. And then the company sent them to me. And then it expanded from there. I wrote about more than just games, I branched out to other kinds of tech. Gadgets weren't really a thing yet. And of course, apps weren't yet, and still 20 years away. But yeah, it just expanded. And then I wrote for a bigger and bigger publications going from like Toronto Computes to the Toronto Star to the National Post to USA Today and, and cnn.com. And then I started to do more broadcast work in the late 90s. I was hosting, starting to host my own radio shows, and a regular on like Canadian stations like Global TV and, and CTV. And then I got a gig with CNN in 2001. Thank you to Peter Kent, who became a politician after his broadcast work with Global [inaudible].
Michael LeBlanc 06:58
I worked with Peter, I worked with Peter.
Marc Saltzman 06:59
Yeah, did you really.
Michael LeBlanc 07:00
At CanWest Media when it was CanWest but.
Marc Saltzman 07:02
Amazing.
Michael LeBlanc 07:02
National was great guy, I, I [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 07:04
Amazing guy. So altruistic. Yeah, he wrote this glowing email about me to somebody at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta. And they did offer me a full-time job. I politely declined and stayed with them as a freelance contributor, traveling to Atlanta a lot for the early 2000s. And then yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Now, I host my own show on Bloomberg in the States. And, so it's been a fun journey. But no, I the short answer is I did not grow up a techie. I was not into that. I was a rocker, and.
Michael LeBlanc 07:29
R R.I.P Meatloaf today.
Marc Saltzman 07:31
Oh my god, I was really sad to hear about that. I just [inaudible].
Michael LeBlanc 07:34
What set of pipes that guy, man. What a set of pipes he had.
Marc Saltzman 07:36
Now, a lot of the credit has to go to Jim Steinman, who wrote a lot of his iconic songs. But yeah, I, I really liked meatloaf. And of course, he was in Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Michael LeBlanc 07:45
Of course.
Marc Saltzman 07:45
I've seen the musical based on his work as well.
Michael LeBlanc 07:47
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 07:47
So yeah, I posted today that he had passed. And I already went on to Spotify and started playing some of the songs, but yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 07:54
Guess what, I was doing the same thing this morning. And I was you know, I, I, I actually, you know, I was thinking Meatloaf and his family and, and he sounded like he was with his family when he passed, so.
Marc Saltzman 08:03
Yeah. Only 74 years old, what a shame.
Michael LeBlanc 08:05
Yong, yeah. Yong, yong, yong. Well, listen, let's um. Yeah, first of all, again, congratulations on your success. I mean, lots of people aspire to be, you know, aspire to do what you do. But you've got you've developed such a great voice, so to speak.
Marc Saltzman 08:17
Thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 08:18
And, and narrative. Let's, let's talk about, you know, what got me thinking about you was CES, and of course, the big trade show that happens in January. Many retailers and many people go to CES. I mean, many it's hundreds of thousands this year. Many less, went to CES and I don't I'm not sure [inaudible].
Michael LeBlanc 08:20
Yeah, instead of 180,000, it was 40,000.
Michael LeBlanc 08:35
Oh my god, wow.
Marc Saltzman 08:36
Yeah, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 08:37
It's still big numbers, right. It's got 40,000 people in the same place. It's, it's pretty, it's still pretty impressive. Now, usually, many of my listeners, if they were buyers of electronics, in the retail space, or themselves, just electronics fans would have kind of made the journey. So, I thought I'd start off with your impressions of the show and not, not as much like what you know what retailers need to be thinking about for their back of the house electronics or any of that. I did see some announcements from, from Walmart CEO talking about, you know, driverless cars and electric vehicles.
Marc Saltzman 09:08
Yeah, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 09:08
But did you see? Or did you get a vibe? You know, a lot of companies, not all, like to launch their new electronics that eventually wind up on the shelves of the retailers listening. Did you see anything jump out at you? Just give me an overall vibe of the show, as if, you know, many of my listeners didn't go. Maybe, you know, walk us through what your vibe of the show was this year?
Marc Saltzman
Yeah. So, and I also covered the show remotely. I, I decided around New Year's Eve not to, to go to, to the show in person. Just err on the side of caution. So, I did cover it virtually. And I didn't find there was one big trend as we've seen in previous years, where one year it's like, okay, it's all about TVs and another year. It's like all right, smart home gear. That's it. But it was kind of a, a, a real mix, a healthy mix of various consumer electronics, trends and products to populate those trends.
Marc Saltzman 09:55
So yeah, some of the big ones were still home entertainment and smart home. Automotive tech increasingly plays a, a key role. Maybe not as relevant to your listeners. But, you know, over the years, car technology, including electrification and automation of, of vehicles, continues to be a big trend. But there wasn't one, you know, shut the front door kind of product that I would say just blew my socks off kind of thing.
It was a lot more evolutionary than revolutionary this year. And I don't know if that has anything to do with the pandemic. But I think just naturally in the normal sort of cycle of things, you're not gonna always have earth shattering years, with new launches, but still really impressive. I, I mean, I think, you know, because of COVID, a lot of people are still working from home, or it's more of a hybrid approach. Same with school. So, we saw some innovations in the laptop department, we saw a lot more foldable, bendable laptop screens using OLED technology. So, Asus showed their Zenbook 17. That's a 17-inch tablet, essentially. But it can be folded in half to put away into your bag, you know, or your purse. And then when it is fully opened, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard, which you get with it, or use your fingertips or digital pen if you like. Or it could be used like you know, folded in half. So, like the bottom half is like flush against your desk, or table, but then you'd have it curved up. So that's kind of like a, a.
Michael LeBlanc 11:13
That's neat.
Marc Saltzman 11:13
Virtual laptop. Or held like a book, you know, you're holding it like a novel and flipping through the pages with your fingertip. That was neat. And then Lenovo had this also 17-inch laptop, called the Thinkbook Plus Gen Three, that has a secondary screen. So, you've got the primary ultra-wide 17-inch display, which is a 21 by 10 aspect ratio, which is huge. But also, an 8-inch touchscreen to the right of the keyboard. So that's great for multitaskers. So, imagine you're on a zoom call on the main screen, you can take notes with a digital pen, which is included, on the smaller screen. And it
Michael LeBlanc 11:45
It feels.
Marc Saltzman 11:46
Your handwriting into text.
Michael LeBlanc 11:47
That's really neat, because it does feel like a lot of smart people would be thinking, okay, lots of people are working or learning or playing at home, probably will not go back to the same numbers in the office. So, we, we should probably start creating innovations for people working at home. And I it's interesting listening to your description, because not everybody's got a lot of space at home. And maybe they need a lot of versatility. You know with that second.
Marc Saltzman 12:10
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 12:11
Screen just kind of jumps out at me [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 12:13
Yeah, and both of those laptops are examples of versatility for sure. And some other applications for that, Lenovo, with that second screen is so one as I said taking notes. Another one would be if you're a an accountant or a bookkeeper or even a math student, you can make that second screen a giant calculator. You know, so it's just right off to the right of the keyboard, right. So that's where the calculator keys, usually the number keys usually are anyways. Or if you are digital artists, you can use the digital pen on the you know, using it as a palette kind of thing in your main screen is like your canvas, right? Or if you put your phone so you know a Lenovo.
Michael LeBlanc 12:46
Some whiteboarding right, there's some really great whiteboarding apps.
Marc Saltzman 12:48
Yeah, that's another application.
Michael LeBlanc 12:49
That people are using for collaborating, right. [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 12:51
And because Motorola is the same company like Moto phones, whatever, they have this proprietary tech that if you move your Android or iOS device near that second screen, you can have a mirror. So then now you can put away the phone after that and then take a call on the laptop or, again really driving home that versatility factor. So that was that was something I think that stood out for me this year. It's not always a big year for computers. And then with TVs you know, bigger, thinner, lighter, smarter [inaudible].
Michael LeBlanc 12:51
I guess the last innovation with TVs was probably 4k, right? I guess would be the last major milestone.
Marc Saltzman 13:25
Major. Yeah, there's been 8k and 16k. But there's not even content to justify that yet.
Michael LeBlanc 13:31
How clear, how clear, does that get [inaudible] need eye surgery to get?
Marc Saltzman 13:35
I know, right? It's a good point. And, and, and I, I say it's too early to consider 8k.
Michael LeBlanc 13:41
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 13:41
There's a lot of 8k TVs on the market.
Michael LeBlanc 13:42
Really.
Marc Saltzman 13:43
I still think it's worth considering, unless you sit really close to your 4k TV, you will see some imperfect imperfections. Not to the same extent as you would with an HDTV, but you will see you know the pixels or whatever. But if you have an 8k, yeah, it's you know even better, but not worth the price in my opinion. Not to mention as I said, there's not a lot of 8k content shy of some YouTube videos. But it will upscale or upconvert you know HD or 4k content to near 8k quality, but not quite the same.
Michael LeBlanc 14:11
Well, and it's an important time we're, we're talking here in late January. The Superbowl is always a little bump up and big screen TVs. And of course, you know right now with folks who are limited in their choice about what they can go outside and do entertainment. I think TV sales are having a, having a bit of a moment yet again for the home. You know one last question about TVs. I'm just kind of personally curious. And, and I know I've I saw it come and go, the kind of rap TVs. The ones that weren't flat flush, but they kind of wrapped. And everyone was saying that was going to be the next thing and then they disappeared. Was that just a you know, it feels like sometimes, you know, these little trends come in and they're a bit of a frill and they fall away but you remember what I mean you know the [inaudible]?
Marc Saltzman 14:48
Yeah, yeah curve, curved TVs.
Michael LeBlanc 14:49
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 14:49
They're not really available anymore. You're right. The, the market sort of dictated that people want flat, and they want to mount it to the wall. So, you can't really mount a curved TV and have a look sort of normal.
Michael LeBlanc 15:01
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 15:02
I've seen someone try to do it, it doesn't look right. So, I think.
Michael LeBlanc 15:05
It's funny how the esthetics matter, right.
Marc Saltzman 15:07
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 15:07
When it comes to TVs. Like at the end of the day, you still want, it's a piece of furniture in some ways, right? It's funny [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 15:13
Yeah, in fact, a lot of the TV makers are embracing this, like, you know, what do you do when the TV's turned off? Do you want a big black rectangle?
Michael LeBlanc 15:19
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 15:19
Rectangle on your wall? No. So companies like Samsung and LG have like different kinds of, they call it different things with Samsung, the models called The Frame. You know, you can even actually change the borders of the TV with these magnet magnetic frames that affix to the side, the four sides of the TV. Even with a wood finish, if you like. And LG has the same sort of gallery vibe, where it's got like real [inaudible] like real artwork on the screen. In low energy mode, so it's not going to make much of an impact on your utility bill on your hydro bill. But it, it makes it pretty, you know, it makes it look like a piece of art when it's not turned on.
Michael LeBlanc 15:55
When it's not on.
Marc Saltzman 15:55
Yeah, so I've seen that kind of thing. I've seen LG had this OBJET TV, O B J E T sounds very fancy. And it covers the TV with a fabric when you're not watching it. So again.
Michael LeBlanc 16:06
Really so it gets [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 16:07
Really trying to blend to your decor.
Michael LeBlanc 16:08
[inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 16:08
Yeah, you can even have it partially covered. So, you can show like traffic and sorry, like weather and, and, and time and stuff like that. News headlines, and then fully unopened is just like the look like any other TV. So, they're experimenting, but yeah, you do find sometimes, the TV makers want to try to give you a reason to upgrade. Like 3D TV didn't take off. And I don't know.
Michael LeBlanc 16:27
Right, right.
Marc Saltzman 16:27
If the consumer wanted that. I don't think so. I think the TV companies wanted to push that. And then similarly, curved, you know, it's nice to have options as a consumer, but that didn't last. And now you can buy forget CES, because that's always gonna be premium, premium.
Michael LeBlanc 16:40
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 16:40
But you can buy now like a 60-inch TV for under $500. That's gonna be 4k with high dynamic range or HDR.
Michael LeBlanc 16:47
Wow.
Marc Saltzman 16:47
It's gonna have built in smarts, you know?
Michael LeBlanc 16:49
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 16:50
Downloading apps. It's amazing.
Michael LeBlanc 16:51
It's, it's really amazing, you know, is that does anything surprise you that you thought would be a big trend that, that wasn't? So, for example, when I think of conversational commerce, or you know, Alexa in the car or any of these things. You know that there's, there's certainly lots of these devices in homes, but it feels like it was a big trend that never realized its fullness. And maybe it's just timing, but is there anything like that you can think of? That you thought, wow, this is gonna be big, this will be something and then it just kind of fizzled out.
Marc Saltzman 17:21
So no, I would actually argue that in the home, smart speakers, and just using your voice as an interface has really taken off. I think Amazon just recently announced that they're almost at 250 million Alexa devices sold. So, I think that just because it's the barrier breaking down those barriers of entry. You know, how do you get to how do you interface with your tech if you're not so techie. And I think voice support, whether it's on your phone, your tablet, your laptop, your Smart TV. And now your smart home devices like lighting and video doorbells and Wi Fi thermostats. I really think it's come of age. That I was like, I thought that was a game changer. When, what seven years ago, we saw Alexa and then followed shortly by Google Assistant.
Michael LeBlanc 18:01
And Siri [inaudible] Siri keep, keeps, keeps coming in, right.? I mean, Siri's got.
Marc Saltzman 18:06
Yeah Siri.
Michael LeBlanc 18:06
Siri's on every device. So, you know, it's got numbers behind it.
Marc Saltzman 18:08
Siri was one of the first Apple acquired the, the nuance. Like the company that was making, Siri, and. and they were one of the first. I wrote funniest story, shameless plug here. But I wrote the book, Siri for dummies. And I thought that was going to be the de facto smart assistant or virtual assistant. But it, it they that quickly became eclipsed by Google Assistant, and Amazon. Just a lot smarter. And Siri, I think is still in third place. But um.
Michael LeBlanc 18:34
Do you think, do you think that, that is the case? Because we know and, and Amazon has said the case. That they, they track and they listen to improve the how well it listens. But you are being listened to? In behind the scenes up in the cloud. Do you think because Apple's taken a stronger stand on privacy, that they're, that it's impacted the efficiency or effectiveness of Siri, do you think?
Marc Saltzman 18:58
That's a really, that’s a really good question, Michael. It is true that Apple, and I will give them kudos for that. [inaudible], maybe with the exception of the Air, Air Tags, which is a bit of a privacy nightmare. But I think they.
Michael LeBlanc 19:09
A bit of a downside to those right?
Marc Saltzman 19:10
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 19:11
People finding Air Tags attached to the back of their license plates. I mean, there's.
Marc Saltzman 19:14
Yeah, yeah. But I think Apple for the most part, they take privacy and security more seriously than, than their competitors. Yeah. So, I'll give them credit where credit's due.
Michael LeBlanc 19:24
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 19:24
And it is true that both Amazon and Google, and I think to a lesser extent, Apple, but it, it is, they do collect data. But it's all anonymized. So, for example, you know, Amazon doesn't know that you, Michael, like listening to Meatloaf. But it will know what the most popular questions are that are asked and what time of the day and what device are you using Alexa on? And, you know, it'll be anonymized. But that data is invaluable. And I can tell you that it does get better over time. Just anecdotally. My son Ethan, my youngest, who's now 17. He, he's a bit of a mumbler. My wife Kelly and I are always like what? Again, clearly please.
Michael LeBlanc 19:59
Low talker, I, I call [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 20:00
Yeah, yeah, yeah, when a low talker for all the Seinfeld fans out there. But his Alexa speaker understands him like amazingly. So, what I did as an experiment was I deleted. You can do this for all your smart speakers, is you can choose to delete your data that's collected. And what happened was when I did that, with his Echo, is when we started from scratch, it didn't understand him again. Until like, a couple of weeks later, through trial and error, it starts to understand how you say the letter 'A' and what's your sort of cadence, and it, it learns all that. And then now it's like, as good as it used to be. But it wasn't when I deleted all of his data. So, there are some benefits to it. But yeah, any privacy, anybody who's like serious about privacy will not have a smart speaker in their home.
Michael LeBlanc 20:00
Right, right, right.
Marc Saltzman 20:11
You know, it's a bit of a tradeoff, convenience versus privacy. But I'm not worried if someone wants to know that I listened to Meatloaf the day that he died, you know, whatever.
Michael LeBlanc 20:47
Yeah, yeah, whatever, whatever.
Marc Saltzman 20:50
Slippery slope I guess, but.
Michael LeBlanc 20:51
Yeah, yeah, thin edge of the wedge or camel's nose in the tents or whatever. But yeah, I got like a half a dozen of these devices everywhere. So, I find them more useful than.
Marc Saltzman 20:59
I love it, I, I. As a music fan, just circling back to what I was into as a, as a teenager. Just the idea of asking for one of 70 million songs through.
Michael LeBlanc 21:09
Unbelievable, right?
Marc Saltzman 21:09
Spotify or Apple music or whatever.
Michael LeBlanc 21:12
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 21:12
Just by asking for it is mind blowing. And it delivers it immediately for $10 A month or $15 a month, whatever. I, I think that's fantastic. And you can even say, by the way, cover version of this song or live version of this song or alternate version of that song, you know, or you know, it's, it's amazing. And then the AI understands what you're asking.
Michael LeBlanc 21:32
And people can ask to listen to your podcast too, right? That's another big thing. They could just say your name you probably come up with [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 21:39
[Inaudible] listen to Tech it Out with Marc Saltzman, there you go. Thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 21:42
There you go, [inaudible]. You're everywhere. There's a shameless plug [inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 21:43
Talk about shameless plugs, but yeah, you set me up for that one.
Michael LeBlanc 21:46
There you go. Softball for you. Let's talk about predictions for the coming year. I, I let's see how, how, how, how your crystal balls working. Is there anything that's on your mind for 2022? We've already talked about you know, there's some you know, more and more people working at home. We've gone through this COVID era. We're not quite done it yet. That's got to change some stuff. Anything, anything that you've seen, I mean, you have a lot of great relationships with some very international, very big electronics companies. I'm sure they share a bit of what's in the tickle trunk. What are you, what are you think and for 2022?
Marc Saltzman 22:15
Yeah, and here you are, nice enough to invite me onto your podcast that specializes in retail trends. And so, I prepared this whole chat about where retail is going in the future. But I won't, so I won't answer the question with that lens. But if you want to chat about that, I'd love to come back.
Michael LeBlanc 22:28
Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 22:28
On another time. But for tech trends going forward, I think this smartphone is going to continue to be the most critical tool that we have in our arsenal. You know, it's gonna you know, obviously, we're using it now to show our, our vaccine passports and all that. But I mean, 90%, or I think sorry, 86 and a half percent of Canadians have a smartphone. But I think that number is going to continue to climb. And if you are, you know, south of 30, then it's like 90 something percent as you might expect.
But I think that this is going to continue to be an, an essential tool for the next couple of years. And then what's going to happen is that we are going to start off setting some of that some of the sort of work that we do on our phones to wearable devices. So, we are going to have more wearable. Like things like glasses, smartwatches, smart clothing. And like we're gonna be able to rely more on things without having to hold anything, we're gonna be able to access more information, have that data collected and analyzed. Like your sleep tracking all that without needing a phone at all.
Already with Apple Watch, and Samsung and some other smartwatches, you don't need even to have your phone nearby anymore if you opt for the $10 a month, you know e-sim. You know, you can use your phone through a pair of wireless earbuds like Apple, you know AirPods Pro or, or Beats Fit Pro or whatever. And, and take a call, you can use your voice through your smart system to you know, send a text or send an email or add to a calendar appointment.
Michael LeBlanc 23:53
[Inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 23:53
Yeah, whatever stream music. So, I think you're, we're gonna rely, but we're still climbing as far as the importance of the phone and market share. And then, and then it's going to start, start to decline as we diversify that kind of those applications. We're going to use you know more and I think. Another trend I would expect, it's still early days is the Metaverse isn't just hype. I, I do think that even though it's gonna be a little bit farther than a year from now, we are going to start seeing this continued blur between the digital and the physical.
Michael LeBlanc 24:24
You think there's a there, there when it comes to the Metaverse?
Marc Saltzman 24:26
Oh yeah, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 24:27
It's, it, it, is a universe sized question. I love, thank you for offering to come back on. We'll get you back on a bit later in the season.
Marc Saltzman 24:33
It was kind of presumptuous of me by the way but.
Michael LeBlanc 24:35
No, no, listen, I'd love to have you back on. Okay, last quick question. Any tech at home you can't do without? I mean, when we think about you talk about smart speakers or anything that jumps out that you go like, you cannot take this away from me what, what, what comes to mind?
Marc Saltzman 24:47
That's easy, my iPad. And that's a device that I really questioned if I needed it, before it came out. So, in 2010, go back, you know, 12 years.
Michael LeBlanc 24:58
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 24:58
When Apple unveiled this, I was like, do we, doesn't seem redundant anybody? Don't we already have a smartphone and a laptop. So why do we need something kind of in the middle in terms of size and, and price and applications? But this is the one device that I, if you took it away from me, I would be very upset. I I'm a big reader.
Michael LeBlanc 25:16
Yeah.
Marc Saltzman 25:16
I love to read. So that's my go to on my Kobo app on my iPad. Not for reading outside. I should caveat. But inside. I play games on it; I stream video to it. And when I'm not streaming video to it, I'm pushing it to my Smart TV. So last night, my wife and I were like, hey, you want to watch something? I'm like, yeah, I've got on my iPad, so I just tapped it and then it wirelessly, you know through I casted into my TV.
I read my news on it, I write notes during meetings on it, I use it as a recorder, I use it as a camera, a video camera. Like that, to me.
Michael LeBlanc 25:44
[Inaudible].
Marc Saltzman 25:44
I love the larger form factor. I know a smartphone can do virtually all that. But I like my 10-inch iPad, I have to say, and I'm not an Apple fanboy. I actually use an Android smartphone and a Windows PC. But I love my iPad. I love the App store. I love how reliable and like the, the, the OS is just rock solid. I use my iPad more than any other device for, for, for play for communication for, for work. Love it.
Michael LeBlanc 26:11
Alright, well. My guest Marc Saltzman, you heard it here. And you can hear Marc across the world practically. Any particular place you want to call out, I'll put lots of links in the show notes [inaudible] again, any place you want to call out to. [Inaudible] Twitter.
Marc Saltzman 26:25
Yeah, if you're listeners, yeah sure if you're listeners are on social media, it's Marc Saltzman. Marc with a C, S A L T Z M A N. I write a tech tip of the day. I link to my articles, video interviews, my, my podcasts. Like there's giveaways, all that kind of stuff. And I'm on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
Michael LeBlanc 26:44
All right, fantastic. Well, Marc, thanks again for joining me on The Voice of Retail. We got to get you back. There's lots going on.
Marc Saltzman 26:49
Yeah, my pleasure.
Michael LeBlanc 26:50
But for now. Yeah, yeah.
Marc Saltzman 26:51
Thank you so much.
Michael LeBlanc 26:51
My pleasure.
Marc Saltzman 26:52
Have a good one and all the best.
Michael LeBlanc 26:54
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of retail. If you haven't already, be sure and click and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week. And check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail Podcast, Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my all-new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbecue, with new episodes each and every week!
I'm your host, Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company and Maven Media. And if you're looking for more content, or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website meleblanc.co. Have a safe week everyone.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
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