Introduction

Nowadays, with the development of our technology-heavy society comes many

inevitable shifts and turns from across the fields, including business. While some
business practices have remained the same, other aspects of doing business have radically
transformed to fit the modern world. The bulk of this fundamental transformation in how
business is carried out results mainly from changes in technological advancements and
how people go about exchanging money.

Throughout the years, we’ve seen many changes in the business landscape, and the future
is no different. Nevertheless, it is important to ask: how has business changed in the
recent years?

Overview

From the economic world temporarily shutting down operations to the millions of lost
business, the impact of the Coronavirus is being felt globally by organizations,
governments and people. Shut-down borders, closing shops and the cease of certain trade
and services have made the last few years difficult for business development. The impact
of Coronavirus will last, and businesses must adapt frequently with the waves of changes
in the hope of surviving.

At the same time, many businesses are swifting to embrace information technology as the
way to keep their operational wheels turning. Everything, including a simple business
entity like a taxi services, has surely felt the impact of technology on business. Such the
use of innovation is showing up in many sectors such as food servies, real estates and
commercial. It is evidental that the online world has become a standard in doing business
efficiently.
Below, I have outlined a few of the changes I think are the most important changes to
how people do business nowadays.

1. The Internet

About 20 years ago, the general public use of the Internet began in its early stages. While
people were getting over the initial shock and wonder of creating websites, learning new
ideas, using email and enjoying online entertainment, corporations were rapidly racing
for their control of the online world. Websites and digital marketplace were springing,
some more successful than others, with companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook
establishing themselves as the new central hubs of modern commerce and business trade
on the world wide web.

Since then, we have seen many revolutionary advancements. Search engines, social
networking sites and other forms of digital traffic generation have finally come of age –
fully embracing their mission as a standard basis of operation in an ongoing endeavor to
increase sales volume.

The Internet has made upon trillions in profits from the increasing number of online
business transactions. It had never been easier to start a business online. Creating a
company website online, within a click away from traditional print advertisements,
making business faster and more efficient than ever before. This new mentality
demonstrates such a major difference in how modern business owners think about
marketing and consumers. Still, the search continues for the next way to utilize the
Internet to produce new ways of getting business done in the mist of today’s online
traffic.

With the new advent of internet marketing, businesses have had to stay afloat on the
needs of their customers to stay relevant on the market. Competition is no longer
localized, but open to all of the world. It’s vital that a business understand what its
customers need and deliver it – better and faster. Surveys, questionnaires, feedback
forms, and comments are used to monitor a business' customers' needs.
A business' ability to communicate with its employees, customers, vendors, and
associates changed dramatically when the internet yielded new communication tools.
Affiliate programs, email lists with auto-responders, and the Blogosphere,... alongside
messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger – have changed the face of business
communications. Driven to a great extent by the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses
are now offering the option for their employees to work from home online, often using
office equipment provided by the company, either full time or part of the week. This
process allows a business to cut costs by needing less office space and using less in
utilities for daily operation. The internet has simplified working with other businesses
and professionals. Internet-based events like Webinars make knowledge exchange and
projects collaboration as easy as logging onto a website.

The internet has proven itself to be a powerful tool to help businesses communicate with
employees, customers, suppliers, and more. It is no surprise that experts predict a number
of advancements and refinements will continue to shape the internet and business in the
coming years.

2. Cellphones and apps

In 1995 portable cell phones were finally beginning to reach a manageable size –
distancing themselves from the lumbering giant phones of the past decades. The general
public was starting to catch on the idea of cellular revolution, with Nokia and Motorola
dominating the market. According to Web Designer Depot, 1996 gave rise to the first
smartphone: the Nokia 9000 Communicator. Today, smartphone technology and app
driven commerce is at the heart of modern business – becoming one of the fastest
developing business entities.

Alongside the development of phones comes the foundation for mobile application – or
“app”. Even though companies might have robust desktop websites, mobile apps allow
them to reach a larger and more diverse audience. According to the Pew Research Center,
96% of Americans now own a cellphone of some kind. Unsurprisingly, people between
the ages of 18 and 49 make up the largest percentage of ownership, with an average of
94% owning a smartphone. However, the 50 to 64 group isn’t too far behind, with an
average of 79% owning some form of a smartphone. These numbers are the concreate
evident that phones and apps have impacted business deeply.

From apps that display company products to apps that provide a vast array of payment
methods at the touch of a button, consumers and business owners alike are virtually
unable to function without a smartphone in their hand. Delivering and transportation
services have also risen to a new height thanks to apps. One edge, the smartphone
provides to a consumer today that allow shoppers to do local comparison shopping on the
go. Although business owners may not like that consumers have such easy access to
digitally-based price comparison tools, it nevertheless is a sign of how changes in
technology have worked to make consumers more tech-savvy shoppers.

3. Consumerism

Consumerism is the idea that increasing the consumption of goods and services
purchased in the market is always a desirable goal and that a person's wellbeing and
happiness depend fundamentally on obtaining consumer goods and material possessions.

Consumerism can be traced back to the 16th century in Europe. Consumerism intensified
in the eighteen century because of a growing middle class that embraced luxury
consumption, as well as an increasing interest in fashion rather than necessity as a
determinant for purchasing. The growth of consumerism can also be attributed to politics
and economics, alongside with colonialism and cultural exchange.

Since consumers are actively looking for the next-best products/services to buy,
producers/manufacturers are under a never-ending pressure to innovate. Manufacturers
constantly develop the latest technology to improve the quality and quantity of their
products. Furthermore, consumerism is an important component of the concept of supply
and demand because it involves the supply of goods and services and the
demand/consumptions of goods and services by individual consumers.
Consumerism also helps shape some business practices. Planned obsolescence of
consumer goods can displace competition among producers to make more durable
products. Marketing and advertising can become focused on creating consumer demand
for new products rather than informing consumer, enabling business to be active in
marketing and producing products to maximize revenues.

With the Internet on the fly, the consumerism sensation is put to a new height, and shows
no sign of stopping in the near future.

4. Other Factors

The Coronavirus might be one of the most unexpected incident the world had faced in
recent years. Since early 2020, people have gone from daily commutes to working in
their pajamas, entire industries have been stagnated through government lockdowns,
stores have struggled to meet customer demand in a jammed global supply chain, and
millions of people have left their jobs. The impact of the pandemic is undeniably clear,
and with millions of businesses shifting to fit the picture, permanent changes might be
coming to the way business are carried out. The huge shift to online shopping and the rise
of software-subscription services, optimization of takeaway and drive-through operations,
to the rise of remote transaction,... are all signs of a changing business world.

The rise of Bitcoin in 2008 has spawned an entire online exchange of cryptocurrencies,
giving the rise to a new viable forms of currency for engaging in business-related
transactions. Not only have cryptocurrencies been used in traditional businesses, but they
have become unofficial mediums of monetary exchange in many less publicized private
online markets.

Along with other technologies, the thriving Point Of Sale (POS) systems has granted
modern retailers a major advantage in optimizing their sales volume. POS systems allow
customers to have direct access to on-site products and numerous payment options,
making running a retail business more efficient and cost effective. Automation, which
allows for inventory control measures, has also revolutionized how tracking and ordering
inventory is done today.

Conclusion

Business is changing rapidly and it will change regardless of how we feel about it. But
it’s because of these changes that the future of business is worth looking forward to.
Never have we made such intensive discoveries and development to the way we trade and
commerce in such a short span of time, improving the lives of billions of people around
the globe and make goods more accessible than ever before. Social Media, Internet,
advanced payment methods, blazing fast delivery and dozens of new ways to engage the
customers have given the consumers and manufacturers new opportunities ahead. Since
anyone is able to open a little business and make some revenue for themselves, now it’s a
better time than ever to start your business dream.

NGUỒN THAM KHẢO

1. forbes.com
2. business2community.com
3. webforum.org
4. studyingeconomics.ac.uk