News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, June 28, 2022: The global pandemic created a drastic shift in the business world. Businesses that prospered due to interactivity, like the restaurant and tourism industries, suffered immeasurable losses due to travel restrictions and social distancing measures to curb the pandemic’s spread. But with these limitations came new business opportunities.
Small and large business owners had to adopt new methods to maintain their customer base while improving revenue streams. One of the initiatives that helped this move is improvements in the tech industry.
Top Business Trends To Watch In 2022
Several businesses shut down due to the pandemic’s limitations, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start something that will thrive. Here are a few business ideas worth looking into when you’re ready to set up your company. The best part is even if other pandemic restrictions come about, these will likely remain operational to help people get what they need while complying with any measures in place.
1. eCommerce
This is perhaps the fastest-growing industry at present. People globally seek products they can easily acquire online, making eCommerce sites a big convenience. In Latin American countries and Trinidad and Tobago, for instance, recent years have seen more customers rely on online platforms instead of retail stores for their day-to-day needs. Whether it’s groceries, electronics, engineering equipment, and everything in between, eCommerce platforms bring the shops to your doorstep.
You can create your eCommerce platform and sell various products to people locally and abroad. But how will you manage your inventory if you don’t own a store? Well, due to the demand for online products, several warehousing businesses have come up. In this case, if you’d prefer to help small business owners have safe storage for their products as they await purchase, that’s another idea you can look into.
A plus clients get with ordering online is that several logistics companies have come up to handle the deliveries. So if they’re buying something from a store in the neighborhood, a nearby town, or even a different country, they can get their items fast through courier services. Depending on the products delivered, you can hire a team of bicycle or motorcycle riders to keep your operating costs low. If you have clients with bulk orders, then you could also consider getting or hiring trucks to handle deliveries as you grow your logistics business.
2. Education
There was a complete halt to physical learning across the globe. But the problem is that people still need to learn so they get past hurdles like lockdown restrictions safely. That’s where online learning options come in.
With most residents in regions like South America and the Caribbean looking for higher education, platforms offering these thrive online. A good example of this is Coursera. It was documented that during the lockdown periods, the number of learners on the platform grew six times faster than in previous years. The thirst for knowledge was needed more during those periods than ever before.
Those who are accomplished in various academic fields can use online learning platforms to educate other like-minded individuals. These classes occur online, making them convenient even for employed individuals since the lessons are recorded for use whenever they’re needed.
3. Healthcare
Regions like the Caribbean and Latin America are seen as having underdeveloped healthcare services when compared with first-world countries. But that has changed over the years with the creation of mobile healthcare services.
Instead of forcing sick residents to visit hospitals that are either too far or too expensive, health practitioners in these regions add portability to their service delivery. So similar to calling an ambulance, you can call the doctor or nurse to your location and receive adequate and affordable treatment at the convenience of your location.
Alternatively, some doctors and nurses have set up small clinics in remote areas. These ensure that even residents in rural settings can access healthcare when necessary.
4. Streaming Services
Entertainment is one of the reasons people are always up and about. But scenarios like the global pandemic cut short the get-togethers and partying scenes to help bring down infection rates. Since people still need entertainment, streaming services became a necessity in most households during lockdown periods. But unlike other businesses that experienced drops in revenue, streaming services grew, thanks to the pandemic measures.
Whether people prefer pay-tv options like Netflix or free streaming services, the demand for these has led to the creation of several service providers over the years. To get an idea of how big this business is, in 2020 alone, a 36% increase in subscribers was noted in Latin American countries from the number of subscribers in the previous year.
5. Casino Gambling And Sports Betting
Still on entertainment, the gambling scene across the world also took a hit with social distancing and sanitizing measures. All casinos and sports betting halls shut down to comply with the regulations in various countries. But in regions like North America and Canada, for instance, this gave rise to the online gambling scene.
For several years, the legislators in these regions opposed online gambling due to the social ills linked to irresponsible behaviors tied to these activities. But they noticed that casino and sports betting fans chose to play on the latest new betting sites accepting players from their region and thought to change their ways. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find several locally regulated casino and sports betting sites accepting players from these regions 24/7. That’s led to a sharp incline in revenues collected from these activities year-over-year since the pandemic period.
6. Fintech
In 2019, Latin America was hailed as one of the fastest-growing regions worldwide adopting mobile and internet services. According to the World Bank, this area surpassed the 53% estimate set and managed to achieve a 66% adoption rate. Add that to the pandemic measures asking people to use more cashless transaction methods, and you have a region that’s ripe for various Fintech solutions. But social, environmental, and political elements in the area have made several investors pull out, encouraging startups to fill the void.
To encourage Fintech growth in the Caribbean and Latin America, measures like lower barriers to entry and fundraising by startups and investors have allowed the industry to flourish despite the volatile political environment. This has helped the industry gain more faith from consumers and investors alike, with positive forecasts from financial analysts where the future of Fintech in these regions is concerned.
