PSFK recently hosted a hangout made possible through Google+, bringing together a panel of experts to weigh in on the trends they think will dominate in 2013. The panel consisted of Ari Kuschnir of mssgpeces, Chase Jarvis of CreativeLive, David Polinchock, Jonathan Ford of Pearlfisher, Aziz Ali from PSFK, and Rachel Shechtman of Story, and was moderated by Piers Fawkes, President and Founder of PSFK.com.

The talk covered a variety of subjects, from the future of retail, health, mobile technology, education, the Middle East, and the importance of developing innovative physical objects. Here are a few highlighted expert opinions from each topic:

Retail

Rachel Shechtman: Online brands will be looking to build offline retail experiences, which will emphasize customer experience as a marketing outreach tool, rather than looking at physical retail space simply as dollars earned per square foot. Likewise established retailers will be expanding the immersiveness of their retail experience, for example Banana Republic or Gap offering a coffee shop or salon built into their stores.

The Importance Of Innovative Physical Objects

Ari Kuschnir: In the coming year, it will be important for companies to offer more physical objects that will seek to optimize the lives of the consumer.

Health

Jonathan Ford: Technological advancements such as the 3D printer will help shed light on health issues from a new angle. Along with a growing public awareness in health issues, as seen for example by the record popularity of this years Paralympic Games in London, health technologies will have a democratizing effect on the industry.

The Middle East

Aziz Ali: There is a growing community of hackers and developers that are rising to fill the gaps in providing technological solutions to problems facing the Middle East.

Mobile Technology

David Polinchock: Mobile technologies will continue to improve, utilizing features such as augmented reality to further enhance consumer experience. This is made possible by constantly improving mobile services allowing users to be constantly connected, and leading to much more immersive interactions.

Education

Chase Jarvis: Learning has to be social from the ground up, with a focus on immersive online experiences that hone in on targeted skills rather than bloated degrees from educational institutions. The future of education will be much more open and accessible to anyone with a curious mind.