The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for small and large businesses alike around the world. However, there are also some positive changes taking place. These new post-pandemic trends and behaviors may end up being better for small business everywhere.
In fact, there are a few core trends that are major opportunities. Opportunities just waiting to be taken advantage of by a savvy entrepreneur that knows what he or she is doing.
Post-pandemic Trends #1: The Shift Towards Digital
With so many people spending more time indoors, the shift towards on online business is growing. Now, more than ever before, companies operating digitally are becoming successful. In large, because the options to do anything else were severely limited during stay-at-home phases. Since we’re still not back to pre-pandemic norms, being able to serve customers digitally is still important.
This means that if you’re a small business owner, now is your time! You don’t need to worry about finding an ideal location and renting physical office space. Right now, all you need is a computer (or mobile device), goods and/or services to sell, and an Internet connection.
Likewise, a lot of companies enjoying success right now have integrated e-commerce channels into their business for the first time. If you have a product that can be shipped (or even hand delivered), you can integrate a digital storefront into your existing website and allow people to place orders that way.
Selling online a great way to remain operational as COVID-19 drags on. And it’s also an opportunity to “future-proof” operations in case mass shutdowns occur again in the future.
Post-pandemic Trends #2 – Flexibility of Location Independence
Teleconferencing software like Skype and Zoom is certainly nothing new. The technology has existed in some form or another dating all the way back to the 1990s. But one thing COVID-19 has exposed, is businesses leveraging this technology to create a whole new era of location independence. For example, how businesses offer their goods and services.
One of the best examples of this is taking place in gyms across America as you read this. Fitness classes are moving online. This allows members to work out right from the comfort (and safety) of their own homes. Healthcare professionals are also offering therapy and similar services over technologies like Teladoc and Apple’s FaceTime. There’s also been a digital shift for professional services (like ours) holding online tax consultations.
These online meetings save all parties a tremendous amount of time and effort for travel and parking!
Post-pandemic Trends #3 – City Partnerships Increasing
Another fascinating trend brought about in the wake of COVID-19 has to do with the unique business boosts taking place in cities across America. Case in point: restaurants.
Many restaurants are dealing with the fact that they’re only allowed to operate at 50% capacity (if that). Likewise, there are probably less-than-normal numbers of patrons going into a physical restaurant to enjoy dinner.
So, what has happened? Cities have partnered with restaurants to close streets for specific periods of time at night and on weekends so that those businesses can set up tables outdoors (some even in the middle of the street). Not only does this allow them to serve far more people than they could with their actual indoor option. but it’s also a great way to promote social distancing and other safety measures.
Post-pandemic Trends #4 – Increase in Remote Work
Everyone knew that remote work had been getting more and more popular over the last several years. At one point one recent study said that about 42% of the people working exclusively from home said that they’d been doing so for more than five years. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has certainly acted as an accelerant for this particular fire. However, this is one factor that creates interesting implications for small businesses in particular moving forward.
With so many Americans under strict stay-at-home orders and all non-essential businesses closed, more people worked remotely than ever before. Employees started realizing they enjoyed the freedom and flexibility working from home. And their employers are also realizing that most employess are just as productive at home – if not more so.
Some of these employers have started to wonder if remote work should continue – even when things go “back to normal”.
If employees are allowed to work remotely, businesses can potentially save an enormous amount of money. Small businesses would likely not invest in massive office spaces if far fewer people actually use it.
Plus, some studies indicate that people are actually more productive when working from home. This means increasing not only the quality of the work, but increasing revenue those employees generate.
Post-pandemic Trend #5 – The Future of Payments
Last but not least, another post-COVID trend is the popularity of cashless and contactless payments.
With the concern around germs changing hands, paying with cash is less popular in the time of coronavirus. Many businesses have even gone “cashless” – refusing to accept cash at all.
“Contactless” payments take this one step further. Along with the various smartphone options (Apple Pay & Google Pay), many debit and credit cards now include a contactless option. This is where consumers simply wave or tap their card on the reader to pay. That’s it. No waiting for your card to register, no PIN, no signature – just a fast and seamless transaction.
In an April, a Mastercard survey, 82% of respondents said they view contactless payments as “the cleaner way to pay.”
The benefits of this for small businesses are as enormous as they are immediate. For starters, younger customers prefer these cashless options to traditional payments. This means offering it as an option could be your ticket to attracting an entirely new audience.
Likewise, research indicates that contactless transactions are far faster than their traditional counterparts. 12.56 seconds on average – compared to about 33.7 sec for cash transactions and 26.7 sec for conventional card transactions.
Offering multiple options for how customers pay for goods and services is great. And by doing so, you create an environment where transactions run faster and are more secure. It truly is a win-win situation, regardless of how you choose to look at it.
What this means for Small Businesses
In the end, it’s absolutely clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do business – likely for good. For every struggle that the coronavirus brought with it, it’s clear that it unlocked a world of new opportunities too. That’s why a lot of small businesses are asking themselves how to apply these new strategies for the long-term.
Rather than return to the limitations of an era that has officially ended, they’re eager to change. These businesses want to embrace the new opportunities now available. The most successful owners will likely be those who seize this chance to pivot. And in doing so they keep up with the changing demands of their customers.
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