Business Trends: Future Shock? – Barbara Weltman

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In 1970, Alvin Toffler’s book Future Shock described what he thought would be the post-industrial age and what it would mean. His major themes: the death of permanence (e.g., the growth of disposable goods because it’s cheaper to make new ones than repair old ones), transience (e.g., (e.g., changing jobs frequently, moving homes, and immigration), novelty (e.g., test tube babies), diversity (e.g., “fun specialists”), the limits of adaptability (e.g., the overstimulated individual), and finally, strategies for survival (e.g., “taming technology”). That was more than 50 years ago and he was certainly prescient.

What will the next 50 years look like and how will anticipated changes impact businesses? No one knows for sure, but predictions are interesting. Here are some of the ideas I found that are food for thought and may lead you to adapt your business in the near future. Perhaps there’s no future shock, but there’s probably a shift.

E-commerce growth

The pandemic was a stimulus to the growth of e-commerce. Even though this stimulus is gone, growth continues at an impressive rate. Statista expects e-commerce sales to reach $8.1 trillion by 2023; they were $5.2 trillion in 2021. Still, in-store shopping persists, with consumers combining their efforts (“hybrid shopping”).

What to do: Be sure you’re maximizing your marketing efforts toward online sales and integrating physical operations with your online activities. If you offer services, determine how to best connect with customers through social media platforms or your website. The use of QR codes now seems to be ubiquitous.

Generative AI

IBM defines generative AI as deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on. According to Zendesk, almost 70% of customers believe that most companies will soon be using generative AI to improve their experiences. And more than half of consumers tie the use of generative AI to more premium brands.

In addition to improving the customer experience, generative AI helps productivity. For example, it already can create content, but is expected to do a better job in the near future. Generative AI is expected to help with risk management, HR, IT and engineering, and more.

What to do: If you aren’t yet using generative AI, learn what it can mean for your business and begin to implement changes.

Workplace changes

Remote and hybrid work arrangements persist even though the pandemic is over. It’s been shown that over half (56%) of full-time jobs can be done from home and the vast majority of employees prefer to do so. This is not expected to change in the coming years; if anything it’s expected to increase. According to Gallup, 8 in 10 remote-capable employees expect to work hybrid or fully remote.

What to do: Adapt your workplace to meet the needs of employees so you can attract and retain good ones. Review your current policy on remote and hybrid work arrangements. Determine how these arrangements impact your business overall: Do you need your current amount of space (can you sublet or get out of a lease)? What changes are needed in your insurance coverage? How will you effectively manage remote workers?

Desire for sustainability

The National Retail Federation found that half of consumers were willing to pay a premium for sustainability and 62% were willing to change purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact. These statistics ran across all income levels and age groups.

What to do: Be transparent about where your source your products so consumers can make sustainability-sensitive buying decisions. Also explain how you support sustainability (e.g., how your packaging and shipping are environmentally fair).