Each year brings new challenges along with several new opportunities. Hence if you turn your back on future market trends, your business might never step up. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most significant predictions for the year 2023. These business trends in 2023 could be game changers for small businesses as well as for entrepreneurs. Here are a few business forecasts for 2023:
More Options in Buy Now, Pay Later
The ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ has developed into a popular and attractive proposition for buyers in the 21st century. And future market trends point out that this will only improve in the coming days. A number of retailers have begun partnering with apps like Afterpay, Affir m , and Sezzle to offer their buyers microloans. This allows the buyers to pay for a purchase in installments. For a small business, this might be a slightly costly proposition because while card purchases cost 3% of the sale, the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ option can cost up to 7% in fees.
However, this can be a value proposition for small businesses in the long run. Younger generations usually look for such options while purchasing luxury items. Another advantage is that this option is not just restricted to retail and can be used in any industry. Therefore, this might be one of the business trends in 2023.
Rise Of Cryptocurrency
Credit cards used to be a viable payment option for customers, but nowadays, it has become a hassle, especially for small business owners. Credit card payments are often processed slowly and are accompanied by a transaction fee. Hence, preserving cash flow can become difficult for small businesses.
Cryptocurrency has emerged as another viable payment option. By offering lower fees and faster fund transfers, cryptocurrency can become a preferred tool for small businesses in the coming year. Therefore, cryptocurrency as a standard payment method can be one of the technology trends for 2023 .
Increasing E-commerce Sales
E-commerce is another aspect that has been adopted by many major brands. However, small businesses are yet to take that leap. Unlike large businesses, they lack the capital and workforce required to operate an online sales system. However, e-commerce received a giant push during the pandemic. Its ability to adapt to such situations has made it even more relevant, especially for smaller businesses. Hence, one of the predictions for small businesses in 2023 can be the evolution and eventual adoption of e-commerce.
Projecting Sustainability
These days, consumers have become more aware of the company's ethical practices. They wish to know all about the strategies regarding the sustainability of the company they are buying from. Recently, Accenture conducted an international study that revealed more than half of the consumers are willing to pay extra for sustainable products. Additionally, 83% of those people felt that it was important for companies to create more recyclable and reusable products.
Therefore, one of the predictions for small businesses in 2023 is that companies will try more to showcase their sustainability policies to attract new customers.
Free Shipping
Free shipping is another bone of contention between small business owners and their customers. Nearly half the consumers look for shipping costs before making a purchase. And around 33 percent of consumers abandon the products in their cart once they find that the shipping costs are too expensive. While it is easier for larger companies to offer this facility, many businesses find it restrictive. However, one of the predictions regarding small businesses is that more and more small businesses will attempt to offer free shipping in multiple ways in 2023.
Implementing Subscriptions
Subscriptions have also become popular in recent years. Whether you are prepping meal kits or curating clothing boxes, you will find subscriptions for literally everything these days. In the past nine years, subscriptions have grown by more th an 500% , outpacing the standard growth in businesses. Hence, one of the entrepreneurship trends in 2023 can be to start a subscription service for your small business.
1st Or 3rd Party Selling Approach
As a first-party seller, you can produce your product and sell it to Amazon. While you lose some control over how your products are sold, there is a possibility of an increase in overall sales due to your association with Amazon. On the other hand, as a third-party seller, you can use Amazon as a portal for selling your products. While it gives you more control, it also translates into maintaining a high-seller review average.
While both these approaches have their drawbacks, they can help streamline your business and reach more diverse consumers. Therefore, another 2023 prediction for small businesses would be opting for either of the two.
Personalized Customer Service
One of the most common entrepreneurship trends in the past few years has been to personalize customer service. Customers' needs have evolved over the years, and they no longer entertain generic interactions. What they need is empathy and the feeling of speaking to another human being. While it is easy to adapt for larger organizations, smaller companies once again find themselves restricted due to their finances. However, developing affordable personalized customer service can be one of the trends in 2023. This will help small businesses retain their customers while also strengthening their brands.
Adopting Latest Technologies
Small businesses are often dependent on technology due to financial constraints. While large companies adopt new technologies to upgrade themselves, small businesses use technology as cost-cutting solutions. Hence, going into 2023, adopting the latest technologies could be one of the small business predictions for 2023. Besides bringing down their operating costs, new technologies might also help small businesses get ahead of the curve.
Video Marketing
The era of still advertisement is nearly over. Since social media has given a boom to videos, video marketing seems to be the way to go when it comes to promoting your brand. From Instagram to YouTube and even Facebook, videos have become highly visible and shareable in the past few years. Therefore, one of the future market trends for small businesses should be the creative use of short-form videos to market their products. Apart from bringing in a new generation of customers, these videos can also help small businesses showcase their unique offerings and values.
The past few years have been excruciatingly difficult for smaller businesses. However, the tough phase is nearly over, and all small business predictions for 2023 point toward a growing market. Therefore, try to look for new ways to upgrade your small business. You must adopt new technologies along with more unique practices if you are looking to take your business to the next level in 2023.
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