Digital experience economy to unleash huge opportunities

The digital experience economy will bring huge market opportunities for China and the outside world, as technology has profoundly affected consumer behavior and raised the expectations of potential customers, a white paper said on Wednesday.

The term digital experience economy refers to a broad range of economic activities that drive systematic changes in all industries through digital transformation, with data as the key production factor and next-generation information technology as the cornerstone, the research paper said.

China's digital experience economy market has been expanding, with the scale of information consumption constantly growing, according to the White Paper on Digital Experience Economy Development.

The research report was conducted by the China Center for Information Industry Development and AbobeInc, a US-based computer software company. The paper was released on Wednesday in Beijing.

Liu Fawang, a deputy chief engineer with the China Center for Information Industry Development, which is a leading Chinese think tank, said in the digital age products and services are optimized while consumers have higher requirements for their experiences.

"The global digital experience economy is becoming a new high ground for technology and industry competition. China is a major player in terms of this," Liu said at a news conference.

Li Yongjian, a researcher at the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the digital economy has a pillar position in the national economy, and the digital experience has greatly affected the economic and social life of people.

"The digital experience economy has brought new types of trust and partnership. Social media has become one of the most important parts of their daily needs," Li said.

According to the report, mainstream technologies in a digital experience economy should feature real-time feedback, personalized experience based on data mining, and scalability for providing quality experiences.

It noted that companies are facing challenges in adapting to the constantly evolving digital experience economy. To address the difficulties, they must first face the transformation toward a digital experience, evaluate and then adjust their strategies, the report said.

Nathan Farner, head of China strategy and operations of Adobe Digital Experience, said the emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, the internet of things, and 5G will greatly promote the evolution of global business models and create huge market opportunities for China to develop a digital experience economy.

To succeed, companies need to foster experience-enabled businesses, Farner said.

Brands that meet the high expectations of customers and provide them with a seamless and outstanding experience will have an advantage over their counterparts in the industry, he said.

China has introduced a variety of measures to bolster the digital economy. In September 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission issued guidelines on developing a stable digital economy and expanding employment.