Business analysts anticipate that the pandemic will continue to disrupt normal business operations for the foreseeable future. This is understandable. Just as quickly as mask mandates were lifted, many were reinstated. Clearly, the Delta variant is continuing to raise alarm bells with health care providers. These factors and others such as technology-based e-commerce sales and online service provision will continue to impact business trends in the year ahead.
Working Remotely Will Continue
In August we listened to the CEOs of the big wall street banks insist that all workers would be required to be back in their offices after Labour Day, no exceptions. But, just as soon as these words were uttered two employees at Morgan Stanley, both fully vaccinated, tested positive for the Delta variant. Once the news spread, all Wall Street employees were sent home to work until further notice.
Virtual Services Are in High Demand
According to a US Chamber of Commerce study, the pandemic has vastly increased demand for businesses that can deliver virtual health and fitness services, home security, home-based fitness, and telemedicine. Savvy businesses are partnering up with complementary service providers to share costs, attract new customers, generate referral-based business activities, and generally stay current in the new economy.
E-Commerce Will Continue to Reign Supreme
Bricks and mortar-based businesses were feeling the effects of the e-commerce competition long before the pandemic. Further, a report by IBM, online shopping is now outpacing its own growth projections by a five-year-jump. So, if you are a small business, you may want to tune up your website, increase your online purchasing options, tweak your search engine optimization features (SEO) and create e-shopping carts that make it easy for your customers to do business with you online.
Elaine Allan, BA, MBA
Technology & Business Blogger
#Vancouver, BC, Canada