A lot of SMEs across the globe ignore the emerging trends in the corporate world, thinking that they are a passing cloud. Every year, the world of business observe the emergence of new trends, but few hardly take root; however, some of these trends take root and become essential tools for business such as the Smartphone which emerged in the 2000s. Lately, the world has witnessed the emergence of cashless payments, alternative lending, artificial intelligence, and personalization, which have all become essential business trends. The following are important emerging business trends.
Cashless Economy
The cashless payment systems are driving the cashless economy. It occurs in the form of debit and credit cards. In countries such as America, the use of the above modes has gained extensive usage lately. For instance, according to research conducted by the United States, Consumer Payment Study of 2016 showed that over 75% of Americans prefer using debit and credit to pay for goods and services as opposed to 11% of Americans preferring to use cash. Thus, today customers have countless alternatives for next-generation cashless payment modes.
The most common digital wallets include Google Pay, Apple Pay, Paypal, Venmo, Lyft, and Uber; all are the emerging trends driving a cashless economy. Amazon Go is revolutionizing the cashless commerce by introducing the feature where customers can skip the checkout line in their shops.
Thus, due to computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning algorithms, shoppers can purchase from any Amazon Go store without necessarily stopping by a register. As the above technologies continue to develop and gain extensive usage, customers will depend less on debit or credit cards to make payments and more on Smartphones to effect payments.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence popularly abbreviated as AI is the other crucial emerging business trend that is causing ripples in the corporate world. Machine learning and AI have left the spheres of science fiction and entered into real use. Today, as emerging trends, brands, and companies deploy it to interact and engage with clients.
For instance, Chatbots are rapidly gaining popularity as one of the ways companies use to provide customized and AI-powered services to clients such as hailing a ride, making product recommendations, and ordering food. Human Resource is the other sector poised for AI takeover, albeit some underlying resistance.
For instance, as other industries are rapidly adopting AI, ethical implications for this emerging business trend are rife for the HR Department regarding issues of discrimination when hiring. People fear that AI algorithms will indirectly defy discrimination laws by teasing out protected data such as race, age, and religion.
Nonetheless, by leveraging AI to mechanize routine or mundane tasks like updating potential candidates or scheduling interviews, HR professionals can create time to mingle with candidates on a personal and more profound level. The competitive intelligence within artificial intelligence is key.
Customer Experience and Personalization
Personalizing the customer experience is gaining much acceptance in retaining customers. For instance, studies show that 80% of customers would like to transact business with companies, which provide customized experiences. Multinationals are watching these emerging trends closely, while still investing and implementing customized customer experiences for their brands.
NetBase Quid is a global firm dedicated to offering customized emerging business trends to clients across the world. For instance, some of the patterns are useful in crisis management. The company helps organizations track emerging trends in real-time to understand the business’s exposure to risk before they cause harm to your brand.
Finally, alternative lending is the other emerging business trend businesses should take a keen interest. Though the non-bank loan portfolio has been growing over the years, several factors have led to its extensive adoption. For instance, it has gained popularity due to the availability of financial product services such as factoring, merchant cash advances, and equipment loans. Moreover, the speed of securing the loans has made it popular with businesses across the globe.
