5 Business Trends to Watch in 2022 and 3 to Keep Your Eye on in 2023

What is a business trend?

Any effective business plan must include paying attention to and complying with all the latest trends. These are simply defined as changes that current circumstances call for, based on gathered data and statistics. Many of them are driven by changes in technology, which have affected the marketing strategy of countless businesses.

The five key business trends in 2022

For 2022, there are five key trends that every business needs to keep an eye on. Each of them is crucial to the future of today's businesses. Here are the five key trends to watch out for in 2022 and beyond.

1. How and where you work

As a result of COVID, the majority of businesses that were able to do so, switched their employees to working remotely. This is a trend that is still growing strongly in 2022 and will likely carry over into 2023. There has been a shift from hiring full-time employees to relying on contractors, as they mostly work remotely anyway. It is believed that this trend will continue as businesses see that the younger generation of workers have different expectations than their predecessors did.

2. Increased agility

Thanks to software designed to connect people with those in other parts of the world, businesses are now more agile than ever before. Restructuring teams of employees has never been easier than it is today. This puts employees on equal footing and eliminates the workplace hierarchy that often does more harm than good.

At the same time, many businesses have relocated their base of operations in order to provide better service to their customers. For example, distribution services are moving into the areas with the highest demand, leading to sped up delivery times as well as cutting down or even eliminating supply chain delays. Businesses and their customers benefit equally from business trends 2022 such as this one.

3. A booming eCommerce industry

Due to the dangers of COVID, the eCommerce industry has seen an explosion in 2022 that is not likely to slow down anytime soon. In fact, predictions are for eCommerce sales to account for 22% of the world's total online sales by 2024.

In the meantime, since 2020, a growing number of people have turned to e-Commerce for all of their shopping needs. As a result, most businesses are stepping up their efforts to sell their merchandise online. But many consumers are also engaged in shopping on their mobile devices. It's been predicted that by the end of 2022, mobile sales will have reached $432 billion.

4. Social media as a marketing tool

There are very few businesses that don't use social media in 2022. But this year it's about more than just connecting with consumers all over the world. Though not every business sees the value of it, many are now working with influencers to reach segments of the market they weren't previously reaching. This is especially important when it comes to younger consumers, most of whom don't know a world without social media in it.

Over 90% of marketers have embraced the idea of working with influencers because of the overall positive results. Many businesses have seen a huge boost in sales as a result. In general, every time businesses spend $1 on an influencer, it results in a profit of $5.78. So, if a business spends $10,000 on an influencer, their profit would be $57,800.

One of the social media sites that have made businesses the most money is TikTok. This is partly because its users are in their teens and twenties, a huge demographic in today's world. By selling ads on TikTok, by the end of 2020, businesses collectively earned $1 billion. The majority of those profits came from ads they ran on the social media site. As a response to its popularity, TikTok implemented a tool specifically to help businesses market themselves.

5. Growing number of entrepreneurs

There are various reasons why businesses have embraced social media marketing, and one of them is that many entrepreneurs of all ages are launching their own businesses. Based on the amount of layoffs that workers faced during the COVID crisis, a growing number of people are becoming their own bosses.

Three business trends to watch for in the next year

While 2022 has been a year of change for many businesses, changes are expected to be just as frequent in 2023. Much of next year's trends focus on digital marketing and connecting with consumers in new and innovative ways. Here are the three key trends to watch out for in 2023.

1. Multiple marketing resources

Business owners are looking for the best ways to reach as many consumers as possible. When it comes to marketing in 2023, omnichannels will rule them all. This simply means that businesses are utilizing every form of digital communication that exists. The focus will be on reaching consumers through mediums that include text messaging, personalized emails, and social media.

2. Increased use of artificial intelligence (AI)

2023 is set to be the year that artificial intelligence changes many aspects of many industries, with advertising being one of them. The biggest benefit of AI is that it can be used to make ads feel personal to the consumers seeing them. It also allows consumers to more easily search for the products and services they want to purchase, using nothing more than their voice. And some of these services can even be obtained through the use of AI. Virtual services have seen a rise in popularity in a world where an increasing number of people prefer to stay home.

3. Mobile-friendly advertisements

It's been proven that these days most consumers do their shopping using their mobile devices. This means creating ads that can easily be viewed on a phone will be a huge focus in 2023. Many website ads aren't viewable on a mobile device, and this can turn consumers off of using a particular business. The tables are turning towards mobile devices being the number one way that businesses reach consumers, calling for a change in how they design their digital ads.

Why it’s important to stay on top of trends in business

Whether it comes to small business trends 2022 or trends larger businesses follow, it is important to keep up to date with them. There are a few reasons why this is so crucial to the success of any business. Staying on top of trends enables business owners to successfully predict the future of their industry. Having this knowledge is important for any entrepreneur.

Those that follow every business trend are seen as leaders in their industry. These are the businesses that others can learn from and model their own plans after. Studying one's previous successors is an effective way to know what works and what doesn't. It also helps entrepreneurs come up with new ideas to help their business find its footing and maintain it.

No matter how successful it is, every business can stand to improve. Following all the latest trends shows entrepreneurs what they need to focus on and the areas of their business they need to strengthen. Constant change leads to growth, and this can only be achieved when entrepreneurs pay close attention to their industry.

Focusing on small business trends 2022 and beyond is the only way to become and remain successful. Businesses of any size must be committed to tapping into what consumers want and the best ways to get those things to them. For 2022 and 2023, listening to and adapting to what customers are looking for in the businesses they frequent is an important goal. With so much competition, it is up to each business to do what they can in terms of marketing, customer communications, and more. Being able to connect with consumers on a personal level will be a big part of the success of businesses all over the world.