What Businesses Will Thrive In The Current Climate: My Predictions

With everything going on right now, business owners are getting hit hard. You don’t need me to tell you that “the economy has gone to shit”, “2008 all over again”, etc etc.

I’m here to share some business predictions (and suggestions) on how businesses will shift and adapt, in a positive way, as well as some consumer trends we might see in the coming months.

You can read this as a business owner wanting to re-evaluate their offerings for the current climate or as a curious consumer who wants to see just how much could change around town.

(Pre- S: I could be waaaaay off the mark here and I’m not trained in economics in any way. That said, in a time of such uncertainty, I had a fun time brainstorming the ‘what if’s!)

In the short-term, things we can do at home and online will boom.

Not everyone will be stuck at home on their sofa twiddling their thumbs but we’ll certainly have more free time than we used to. People who used to spend a lot of time socialising (I’m looking at you extraverts!) will want to fill that time with other things:

• Entertainment companies like Netflix are already seeing an increase in users with stocks jumping up 7% in one day.
• Expect podcasts listens to increase and more new podcasts to come out — as well as a growth in audiobook sales and subscriptions.
• Food delivery companies are doing very well right now (as are delivery driver jobs) and should continue to do well. The only issue I see here is that people could have a lack of income and so will want to get creative with their cooking on a budget.

I’m thinking we’ll also see a big trend in education — people have more time on their hands so want to put that into learning something new. This means more online courses and education-based memberships!

Foraging, survivalist, and self-sufficient based content will get more interest

More people are in positions where they a) can’t get out to get food and b) are uncertain about what the future will hold. Who knows if we’ll all end up having to heat our own homes or grow our own food? So resources about gardening, foraging, and growing your own food will trend.

Survivalist content and business will also do well. People want to learn how to look after themselves if all hell brakes lose! If Bear Grylls had an online membership, he’d be making a mint.

In the long-term, I can see more people taking an interest in being self-sufficient in general. How to survive without needing to go to the supermarket, how to find natural remedies, ways to fix your car — basically how to solve your own problems without needing outside help.

Also, I didn’t really know what category this falls under but I guess self-sufficiency it is: With coffee shops and cafes likely to be closing (or people not going out them), home coffee makers should see an increase in sales. As will any workshops/courses from baristas on how to make that fussy coffee order at home (Just How Starbucks Used To Do It™).

People are getting their DIY on

As people are settling into the idea of staying in their homes for an exteded period of time, they are also noticing the cupboards that need fixing and the spare room they mean to turn into a study last year.

DIY and Home sales have increased by 4.9% vs 2019 and I think we’re going to see this increase even more over the next few months.

As people work on their homes, DIY bloggers and course creators should do well in the short-term, as could interior designers. (I also noticed that MasterClass has released an interior design course — good timing!)

Remote working will become the default, where possible

According to this Forbes article: “…by 2020 it is estimated that 50% of the UK workforce will work remotely.”

Well, they weren’t wrong.

Remote working has increased to accommodate employees staying at home. but I think it could be more of a default option long-term, where possible.

With this comes a rise in resources and products around this — productivity courses, planners, home offices, house plants, lunches at home, trainings on how to stay motivated, etc.

With the fun of remote working, you also have it’s evil twin: loneliness.

As someone who has been working from home for the past four years, I can tell you that with the pyjama sessions and pet dance parties also comes bouts of loneliness.

Now getting out to socialise in the evenings or on weekends isn’t really an option, we’re going to be looking for other ways to cultivate connections (whilst also getting work done during the day).

I think we’ll see a big increase in virtual meetups, co-working sessions, online memberships, and people wanting to connect with new friends and peers online.

I’ve already seen waves of this in the short-term (businesses offering pop-up co-working and community challenges) but I think well-established online meetups/coworking will thrive long-term if they really solidify their offering and claim that ground now.

Community-based tech companies are sitting pretty

We’ve already seen tech companies like Zoom, Loom, and Discord adapt their features to accommodate for more people using their services for working at home, screen sharing, and hosting online meetings.

I think we could see businesses like this do really well in the long-term as businesses adapt for remote working. This also means relevant hardware, like microphones and webcams, will see more sales.

Video games will thrive

Short-term, (and I’m saying this pride as a streamer myself) more people will turn to video game streaming services like Twitch and Mixer for entertainment.

We’ve already seen Steam break records and more viewers heading to Twitch for entertainment.

People who couldn’t tune in during the day before (because they were working in an office) could now be more likely to pull up a stream while they’re working from home!

I think we’ll also see more people starting to stream as they are spending their usual ‘social’ time stuck at home. “Hours streamed have increased 15% across the platform in the last three days” according to this article.

Long-term, hopefully, we see the video game streaming industry flourish as it is seen as a more established platform for entertainment.

IRL based business will pivot

We’ve seen a big rise in experience-based businesses over the past 5 years or so (i.e. escape rooms) but these will likely pivot to fit the subscription box model (i.e. murder mystery in a box) which also falls under the ‘experience economy’.

Subscription boxes *should* stand their ground — they are already forecast to be a £1 billion industry by next year — but this will also depend on their manufacturers/suppliers. I’m thinking that more experienced-based boxes will thrive vs. product-based boxes.

Exercising the mind and body at home

With social-distancing, online therapy will become the norm.

It looked like it was already headed in that direction but now, with everything going on, I feel like more people will benefit from therapy and online will be the only option. As online therapy platforms start offering free sessions, I can only see this growing even more in the near future.

I didn’t really think about this before now (because I very rarely exercise myself) but home exercise and home gym equipment should do well in the current climate. People want to stay fighting fit and anonyingly healthy people who go to the gym like five times a week could really struggle with a change in routine.

I used to use an online membership that streamed ballet based exercise — I can see more businesses like this that teach yoga, pilates, running, etc (anything that you can do with your body at home/in your garden) to start popping up.

I’ve also seen personal trainers offering garden-based sessions, which brings me to my next prediction!

IRL services will go mobile and/or shift to online education

Personal trainers coming to your home for a boxing session in the garden.

Local coffee shops offering daily home delivery (or, as I like to think of it, ‘room service’).

Dog walkers going door to door to make sure self-isolated pups are getting their exercise.

Hairdressers offering online consultations or guiding you on how to cut your own hair from Skype.

I think we’re going to see a lot of brick and mortar businesses close but I’d hope that we also see a lot of businesses pivot to suit their customers. So, more online classes, online consultations, and outdoor home visits.

Ideally, I think consumers would love to be able to do everything they used to do but either a) have an online solution or b) have it delivered to their doorstep.

Are you a business owner yourself?

If anyone:

• has an offline business they want to move online
• needs to pivot their offerings to suit the current climate
• has a business idea they want feedback on

…then you might be interested to know that I’m opening my calendar to free 15-minute strategy chats with business owners every Tuesday and Thursday until April 30 2020. Just email me at hello@zoelinda.co.uk to get started!

Have you had any predictions of your own?

Feel free to share any predictions on your own below! I’m super interested in seeing how this will play out and affect our businesses and lifestyles over the next few years and would love to hear your experiences.