12 Business Innovation Trends That Are Reshaping Our Economy

It’s no secret that words such as innovation and disruption are the hot buzzwords in business right now. While some countries are leading the way, every major organization around the world is doing everything they can to try and be out in front of their competitors so they can have that leading edge.

If you ask any of the experts on innovation, they will all tell you that these next ten to twenty years are going to completely reshape how our economy functions. Here are twelve of those ideas

1. The Bio-economy

Biotechnology is one of the major development poles for companies and economies since its effects are beginning to be seen in multiple sectors. In this way, biomaterials that can be manufactured with agricultural products such as cassava or corn serve as input to manufacture new pieces.

Bioenergy and renewable energies, including solar generation that some companies already use in Colombia for their own plants, will continue to boom next year. These technologies, which were previously unattainable and with high costs, are already at the hands of entrepreneurs to boost competitiveness and resource efficiency in their companies in the long term.

2. The Experiential Economy

Despite the fact that saving is very important and is evidenced in models such as 'hard discount' businesses, the truth is that sophisticated and premium services with the highest quality and excellence are the domain of the experience economy. In this field, the creative industries and the orange economy take over areas such as tourism and thematic trips, concerts, shopping centers, apps, fashion, design or niche markets that adapt to the specific needs of customers with concepts that surprise and that come out of the ordinary.

3. Exponential Personalization

Nothing is free and your freemium accounts know it. The combination of data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence is allowing companies to know more and more about their consumers. Apple and Amazon are developing patents for technological systems that activate different functionalities of a car depending on the driver, identifying him either by facial or voice recognition. In turn, the chances of Netflix and Spotify failing a recommendation are getting smaller as the effectiveness of predictive models and algorithms has improved significantly. Therefore, the more data, the more findings that will result in personalized value propositions that respond to individual preferences.

4. Green Electricity

Being green is the trend. The autonomous and electric car industry continues to gain momentum. Smart cities (also a trend) are betting on non-polluting mobility options. Currently there are electric buses in different districts of Santiago and among the most recent options include electric scooters from Scoot and Lime. In Europe this trend is already generating technological developments in the logistics industry with the modification of trucks. Companies like Volvo, for example, are venturing into the development of rechargeable electric batteries and sustainable supply centers.

5. Female Leadership

Female leaders have been growing exponentially in both politics and business. As equality becomes more prevalent, female executives are on the rise with 30% growth in the EU and 29% in the US in 2019. This type of leadership is reshaping how some organizations think and approach their business. According to some of the leading female experts, many of them are making great attempts to shifting how companies are run which will play a pivotal role in corporate culture.

6. Discount Stores

The 'hard discount' stores that are spread across various sectors are the result of how entrepreneurs are reading the economy through low-cost models and mass consumption. They have reached restaurants, hotels and gyms that used to be niche spaces and far from this type of business. Due to Covid having such an impact on people’s wallets, many companies are re-thinking their business models.

7. The Banking Revolution

Banks are opening up to the ecosystem through digital transformation. The trends are very marked in this market and include the availability of APIs, omnichannel, artificial intelligence, interfaces (chatbots), cloud banking and still under development, but gaining strength, virtual reality and blockchain. The bank is undergoing a true technological revolution led by startups and fintechs that have come to react more quickly to customer needs.

8. Mental Health

As anxiety and depression continue to skyrocket, many businesses are trying to tackle this issue from many levels. According to the Global Wellness Summit, mental wellness will be on of the leading future business trends with neuroscience, biohacking, and transhumanism all coming together to completely shift how we approach our mental health. “Happiness and well-being is something everyone is striving for” says Sean Adams of Motivation Ping. “It is a billion dollar industry with a great deal of opportunity for businesses to come in and offer their solutions. People are hungry for apps, medicines, and technologies that help them find some peace and balance in their life”

9. Sustainability

More than a matter of public relations or philanthropic work, it has become one of the pillars of innovation through trends such as sustainable construction or green bonds and credits. Sustainability can be imposed as one of the best business arguments and be part of the agenda frequently in all sectors, since none is inherent to what happens with the environment. Leed certifications for new urban projects, 3D printer construction processes with manufactured parts that cause less waste and with more resistant polymers, are proof that the green economy is here to stay and generate revenues.

10. Collaborative Economies

Regarding digital platforms that serve more than one user and the "peer-to-peer" model. Collaborative economies have redefined the relationship between who has a product and who has a need. It strengthens the role of trust within a commercial transaction and proposes a model focused on collaboration. The sectors that will grow within collaborative economies in the coming years will be talent on demand, media streaming, shared mobility, hospitality and peer-to-peer / crowdfunding financing. In fact, the consulting firm PWC predicts that by 2025, the profit from the collaborative economy sectors will represent 50% of the profit from the traditional sectors.

11. Artificial Intelligence

It is an unavoidable topic today, in which technologies such as machine learning, Big data, robotics or artificial intelligence are already part of business meetings and events with greater frequency. Sectors such as agriculture, health and commerce, day by day, are increasingly susceptible to the arrival of these technologies, with adaptations and innovations that facilitate their processes and offer them new market spaces.

12. Consumer Shopping

Consumption today is higher than ever, however it is the channels that have changed. No more catalogs, coupons and weekend promotions. The new consumer is digital and demands speed, simplicity and a more intuitive shopping experience. The business model of companies in this industry is changing dramatically. Black Friday sales in the United States increased 20% in the online channel compared to 2018.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes