• by Laurie Petersen , December 27, 2016

We put that question to cross-channel marketing execs across the spectrum and here’s what we got back:

Go Mobile Or Go Home!
In 2017, cross-channel marketers — retailers in specific — need to prepare for mobile, the fastest-growing channel in user-shopping experience. With the growth of mobile, we expect to see expansion of video in marketing experiences. Marketers need to show their products quickly and effectively with purchase decisions being made in real-time. The mobile shopping experience will be cross-platform via search, mComm, in-app and social shopping. Creating video that leverages the buying power of the second screen will enable an increased engagement, expanding sales, and ultimately what we call “return on content.” —Sharon Joseph, vp of client services, CreativeDrive

AI Everywhere — Including Your Automobile
Artificial intelligence will give marketers the ability to target consumers with ads that address their specific interests and needs. AI technology like IBM Watson is already making its way into many parts of our marketing ecosystem; watch for how this impacts the next wave of mobility, which is the automobile. With companies like GM committing to IBM Watson powering their OnStar devices, hundreds of millions of cars will be connected not only to their drivers but also to each other, which will create a significant new e-commerce, literally mobile marketing opportunity for brands. —Steve Carbone, chief digital and analytics officer, Mediacom

Stores Become Experiential Warehouses
We’ll see more stores within stores designed to trigger online orders by letting customers see, feel, touch and play with products. And we’ll see more online customers come to stores for pickup, then be sold on other items by personally targeted offers and experiences. —Tim Kilroy, vp/insights and analytics, Elite SEM 

Channels Channels Everywhere — And More To Come!
There will be twice as many “channels” that cross-channel marketers will need to manage by the end of 2017. Internet of Things, chat bots, AR/VR applications, and soon on, are exploding the number of digital customer touchpoints we must consider. —Scott Brinker, president and CTO, ion interactive

The Livestream Two-Step
With 87% of consumers using a second screen while watching TV, social platforms have an exciting opportunity to provide a full viewing experience through livestreaming. Twitter, for instance, can bring together user content and live video — putting all relevant gametime content in one place. —Matt Burgoon, svp of media operations, Adaptly

Let Apps Do The Searching For You
Search behavior will migrate away from being human-initiated and move toward apps knowing what we want and producing information when we need it. The data we give to the applications we use every day will become predictive, so that our apps will perform searches for us in the background and deliver the services we require without us having to ask for it. —Steve Carbone

Customer Relationships Dominate Measurement
Marketers will expand attribution models to measure customer engagement and retention in addition to transactions. By comparing the two across channels, they’ll start to bring the cost of acquisition down and the lifetime value up. —Tim Kilroy

AR/VR Goes Further Mainstream
We can’t ignore the infusion of AR/VR into brand marketing. The huge success of Pokémon Go brought AR to a mainstream audience, and the launch of many new simple glasses and lenses will make VR far more affordable. —Steve Carbone

That’s just for starters. What would you add to this list?