Every year, businesses identify challenges and opportunities by making plans that determine the growth and development of the business for the next year. The year 2022 started with the question of whether the pandemic issue would be overcome, just like in 2021. One of the most important questions was whether the businesses that switched to a 100% online business model would survive in the period of 'normalization'.
Some of these questions have been answered. We have seen that online businesses do not tend to decline during normalization, and in fact, on the contrary, they continue their rise. Online selling has become the preferred way to buy goods and services. In other words, in most parts of the world, online shopping has become more preferred because it gives the opportunity and advantage of having a wide range of products at fingertips, without leaving home.
Even those businesses who embraced this and preferred it for the first time increased their sales after the pandemic. On this year's Black Friday alone, contrary to all predictions, online sales exceeded $40 billion worldwide. In the US alone, the figure was $9 billion, 2.3 percent more than last year. This is a significant figure for a country that sees inflation and economic stagnation. This is also significant because US is the country that is influencing business worldwide.
And behind all this is technology, which is accessible to everyone. Technology has drastically changed the way we market products and services. Technology is enabling game-changing new strategies and business processes in different sectors and markets. Today, technology is like a bridge, a launch pad. It offers tools that connect people, create new customers and even new products.
The main goal of the business is to sell and the digital or physical platform, whatever it is, must have a specific mission and values. Improving the business or product by putting technology at the center or keeping technology in mind to improve performance will increase the advantage of the business. Companies may have a business partner to accompany and advise, but it is important to keep in mind that the use of technology is key for any business in this century.
Nurmyrat Mommayev,
PhD Candidate at Marmara University's Department of Political Science and International Relations in Istanbul, Turkey
