New Year's Resolutions
With the new year comes anticipation and commitment to New Year’s resolutions. Many people, however, will fall short of their resolutions if they do not have someone or something to keep them accountable.
This is especially true with large corporations. To raise their overall revenue, corporations must satisfy their customers and more importantly, their shareholders. The main way for major companies to truly satisfy their supporters is simply continuing to increase revenue. Yet, if companies are continuously searching for ways to generate more revenue, their future plans may not be considered as “resolutions”, because they are merely things to anticipate. Instead of holding these companies accountable for resolutions, we could have reasonable standards and expectations. As we are going into the new 2023 year, here are some innovations we can anticipate to see from a few of the world’s most influential corporations.
As one of the largest retail corporations in the world, Walmart has a large audience to attend to. To maintain their relevance and keep up with today’s growing online media, Walmart has resolved to start their own media platform: Walmart Creator. This app is currently in the beta stage but is set to launch sometime in 2023. The purpose of this app is to advertise products through content creators so that they can reach customers more directly. Although this app will just be another social media platform, what distinguishes it from other social media apps is the fact that creators must apply before they post videos, and these creators may earn revenue from advertising Walmart’s products. Using “nano-influencers'' to promote products seems like a genius idea, but it will be a big challenge for the Walmart Creator app to attract users. The Walmart Creator app will somewhat be mimicking the already globally popularized social media platforms of TikTok, Youtube Shorts, Instagram Reels, etc. Will people see a need for another social media outlet? If it is known that the Walmart Creator app will be used primarily for advertisement, why would anyone choose to be advertised to? Walmart’s Creator app may not become the world’s next TikTok, but since they are one of the world’s most financially healthy companies, even if their plan fails, it could only benefit them.
Another one of the world’s largest retailers, Amazon, has a few resolutions in mind for the new year. With over 4,000 sales on average per minute, Amazon must stay up-to-date if the company wishes to keep up with society's endless shopping demands. Currently, Amazon is pressing to expand into the health and wellness market. In the past years, Amazon has completed some important steps for achieving this goal. In the summer of 2017, Amazon worked with Merck and its developers to give Alexa “skills” to better help people with diabetes. Amazon’s goal to integrate Alexa powered devices into the digital health field would allow third-party apps to be used by and help many more people. In early 2018, Amazon created a new joint-venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase so that the company could provide its employees with better health care at lower costs. Last year, Amazon opened up its cloud units for general availability. Amazon’s Omics is a service that helps researchers store, organize, and analyze data, which will allow customers to make new scientific discoveries. This year, Amazon plans to recruit many more employees to help with the growth of Amazon’s cloud units. If the new Omics technology succeeds, it will be an advantageous achievement for Amazon.
Apple, the world’s largest smart-device manufacturer, achieved some large accomplishments in 2022, yet no matter how many successes Apple has had in its past years, the company must continue to push itself if it wants to reach farther in the future. Last year, Apple’s net sales reached around $394.33 billion, which was a significant increase from its previous record in 2021. Since the following information has not been publicly announced by Apple, here is what experts believe we can anticipate to receive from Apple in 2023. Apple Inc.’s new in-house chips will allow them to produce an expanded line-up of MacBook laptops this year. Shifting away from Intel chips has increased the revenue Apple receives from Macs. To gain a larger margin of shares in a market dominated by Lenovo Group Ltd., Apple plans to start using more homegrown processors. Bloomberg has reported that Apple is also planning to issue a larger version of the iPad Pro this year that will utilize multitasking capabilities included in the iPadOS 16. By increasing the number of chip-containing devices they sell, Apple might be able to gain a larger percentage of market share for personal computers. If Apple succeeds in attaining this anticipated market growth for the new 2023 year, consumers can expect to see Apple’s products significantly progress in the coming years.
There are plenty of new innovations we can expect to see from globally influential companies in the new year, yet these companies have made no promises. What urges these large corporations to continue innovation is their customers’ satisfaction. If any company were to fail to appeal to its consumers’ needs, it would eventually lose its customer base. As consumers, we have the power to push for progress by holding these companies to high standards and requiring them to be of good quality. By keeping in mind what goals companies plan to fulfill in the new year, we can gain a sense of whether these companies are sub or above par. When new years come around, it is important for members of society to keep others liable so that we may all succeed, regardless of whether some have made resolutions or not.
References
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Eugene Kim, C. F. (2018, May 10). Amazon is building a 'Health & Wellness' team within Alexa as it aims to upend health care. CNBC. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/amazon-is-building-a-health-and-wellness-team-within-alexa.html
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Laricchia, F. (2022, November 10). Apple Revenue Worldwide 2022. Statista. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/265125/total-net-sales-of-apple-since-2004/
Gurman, M. (2022, June 9). Apple (AAPL) plans 15-inch macbook air for 2023 and new 12-inch laptop. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-09/apple-readies-larger-macbook-air-to-capitalize-on-its-new-chips?leadSource=uverify+wall