IBM's Watson is capable of predicting way more important things.
But for now, it's all about Cyber Monday and Watson is not only predicting higher sales, but also the tech items expected to sell the best.
According to an IBM press release, Cyber Monday online sales will increase by upwards of 18 percent, in comparison to 2014, with products from Samsung, Sony, LG TVs, the Apple Watch and Beats by Dre headphones/speakers expected to be the most desired in consumer electronics.
The IBM Watson Trend app is also predicting Nike sneakers, the Skylanders interactive video game and action figures, Star Wars Droids and hoverboards to be amongst the most-popular items this year.
Meanwhile, the fastest-trending products for Cyber Monday include everything from the Nintendo 3DS XL to Brother and Epson printers, the Motorola Moto X cell phone and JBL speakers.
Watson also predicts that strong weekend sales will power the way for a successful Cyber Monday.
According to results over the weekend, online sales for the Saturday and Sunday following Black Friday were up 25.5 percent from that over the same weekend in 2014. In addition, the average order over the two days via mobile and desktop purchases was $130.57. Tablet orders also exceeded that of desktops with smartphones generating the most orders — accounting for 44 percent of all online traffic. No surprise there, right?
The way the IBM Watson Trend app works is it combines machine-learning technologies with natural language to unearth consumer preferences and patterns, helping to explain why people choose particular items or brands.
Taking that a step further, Watson Trend could also predict whether a particular trend will remain strong or prove to be nothing more than a fad.
Let's see how Watson's predictions for Cyber Monday hold up this year.
