As the midpoint of 2024 arrives, business owners need to examine relevant trends that are shaping up to make this year and next transformational. Indeed, several movements are already in progress that could entirely reshape the face of commerce and economics for years to come. As far as technology is concerned, the sector is the center of what’s happening in global business as the digital revolution proves to be a major historical transformation.
Anyone who’s interested in what the future will look like should pay attention to factors like consumer preferences, advances in technology, changes in how people do their jobs, the automotive industry, e-commerce, cryptocurrency, precious metals, cloud platforms, the tech job market, fossil fuel demand, and more.
Why is it imperative to monitor these kinds of developments? The answer is that major trends currently underway will have a huge impact on all sectors of the economy, not only in the 2020s but long after. Now is the time for owners, entrepreneurs, investors, managers, and workers to embrace the big trends and create proactive strategies for staying ahead of the curve. Organizations and individuals who do so can thrive amid a computerized, interconnected global marketplace. Here are details about some of the trends that are shaping the near and distant future.
Electric Car Demand Tanks
To the surprise of almost no one, the demand for electric vehicles has stalled and continues to decline. As consumers began to realize that the national charging infrastructure was virtually non-existent and that there are multiple safety issues with large electric batteries, dealerships have had trouble selling EVs. Some sellers are stuck with huge inventories of pricey vehicles and don’t plan to order any more from manufacturers unless the situation changes drastically.
Despite expensive marketing campaigns and hefty financial incentives for buyers, sales are hampered by multiple factors, not the least of which is that battery manufacturing is, in some cases, more of an environmental hazard than driving a gasoline powered car. Auto manufacturers are already reassessing their investment in all-electric vehicles and recommitting to sales of combustion and hybrid vehicles. It might be a long time before the EV reappears, as consumers have demonstrated that they simply don’t want to drive battery powered cars and trucks.
Cloud Platform Market Expands More Than Expected
The last half of the 2020s is set to see exponential growth in the cloud platform market niche. Initial projections of this fast-growing market’s expansion were already optimistic in the first years of the decade. But thanks to leaders like databricks and snowflake, real growth numbers are exceeding those first-round expectations. The databricks vs snowflake conversation offers insight into why so many owners and entrepreneurs are leveraging the power of the cloud to find the storage and data analytics solutions they sorely need to stay competitive. Data driven insights for making decisions are fast becoming the basis for commercial success in all markets, from finance and accounting to law and industrial production.
The demand for reliable cloud platforms is higher than ever. As that demand continues to widen, the tech industry will become more competitive and innovative than it already is. If you manage or own a company, you can and should review a comprehensive 2024 report that offers a side-by-side comparison and in-depth overview of both platforms, along with opinions of real users about relative advantages and disadvantages of each product.
E-Commerce Becomes Dominant Form of Selling
The entire retail landscape is undergoing a huge transition to e-commerce. Consumers are increasingly becoming comfortable buying products and services via phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. There’s no doubt that electronic commerce will be the dominant form of retail buying by the time the decade ends if it hasn’t already achieved that status.
Raw data is hard to come by because the changes are happening so quickly, but online merchants continue to draw vast numbers of customers all over the globe. Traditional brick-and-mortar sellers are facing the challenge of their lives; only a few are willing or able to make the transition to a fully digital economy. For those who are ready to convert to e-commerce and dedicate their long-term survival to online marketing, the goal is to focus on excellent customer service and multi-channel integration.
Cryptocurrency Gains Ground
Bitcoin and other major players in the crypto niche should do well in the latter half of the decade as consumers begin to accelerate their adoption of the new form of money. Likewise, national governments are simultaneously attempting to piggyback on the trend toward paperless buying and selling as they roll out their own forms of e-currencies.
Already, governments are trying to figure out how to regulate cryptocurrency and keep it from competing with de facto national forms of money. So far, the decentralized nature of crypto has dominated the landscape and begun to revolutionize the way financial transactions take place. Thousands of major retailers accept Bitcoin, and the trend toward wider acceptance is strong.
