Cognizant’s recent ‘From Eyes to Ears: Getting Your Brand Heard in the New Age of Voice’ report says that brands not paying attention to voice could already be losing out on millions yearly. And while the vast majority of companies agree that voice will become essential to their success, only 20 percent have a formal voice strategy in place.

Technology has become central to keeping people connected during extended periods of forced social isolation. Whenever people get back to their routines in the physical world, it will merely be an effort to catch up, not be free from the virtual world.

There's a new way to borrow at the checkout counter, and it's finding favour with shoppers on a tight budget. Termed "buy now, pay later" (BNPL), these interest-free, short-term payment plans have captured a sizeable audience in credit-starved, cash-strapped millennials and Gen Zs.

COVID-19 has upended life as we know it. The potential effect of this viral disease on mortality and public health, as well as the lasting socioeconomic repercussions of the crisis, is still unfathomable.

When we look back at the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the unsung victims of the devastating virus is the touchscreen. While the virus made us wary of unhygienic surfaces, the lockdown and social isolation revived our interest in interacting with a human-sounding voice, catalysing the large-scale shift towards the voice interface.