The past year has brought a flurry of changes for many people. Maybe you’ve embraced online shopping and want to start to incorporate meal planning into that experience. Perhaps you’ve gotten into selling things from the comfort of your home or you’re now working remotely with people around the world.

Digital solutions meet modern needs so you can do these types of things successfully, whether you’re a consumer or an entrepreneur. Three of the top digital trends of 2022 showcase the growth of technology solutions by innovative startups focused on making life better.

Trend 1: Simplified online grocery shopping

The food marketplace is an evolving space with two trends poised for continued growth: online grocery shopping and meal planning. Grocery Shopii is the solution for shoppers who want to integrate meal planning into a customized online shopping experience.

Today, meal solutions are helping consumers tackle meal fatigue and save time. Not only are Shopii recipes curated by top bloggers, they’re hyper-personalized to each client’s preferences, offering suggestions that align with existing shopping habits. Plus, Grocery Shopii utilizes machine learning to expedite meal planning and online grocery shopping to 5 minutes or less.

Grocery Shopii is free for shoppers and helps grocers provide a tailored experience, which in turn builds customer loyalty. Learn more at GroceryShopii.com.

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Trend 2: Interactive fashion resale marketplace

What people choose to wear defines who they are, and today more people than ever want to stand out in their own unique way. That’s why interest in vintage clothing, upcycled fashion, and handmade accessories is soaring, and Galaxy is connecting passionate sellers with engaged buyers.

Galaxy is the first platform of its kind to fuse live shopping and fashion resale, creating a truly social, entertainment-geared shopping experience with sustainable fashion at its core. With Galaxy, shoppers can have conversations while buying, allowing them to make more informed decisions and understand the stories behind the pieces they’re browsing.

Galaxy enables the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs to find and build their community, plus, unlike other platforms, takes no commission or fees. Visit Galaxy.Live for more information.

Trend 3: Symbiotic solutions to labor needs and economic empowerment

The labor shortage crisis, the Great Resignation, diversity challenges — job economy topics continue to capture headlines. Companies of all sizes are struggling to fill roles with quality candidates who meet their needs.

Meaningful Gigs is one solution that solves many issues that companies are facing today. This tech-packed platform connects skilled African designers with companies seeking high-quality digital design work. Their vision is to create 100,000 remote skilled jobs in Africa by 2028.

Meaningful Gigs provides companies with a way to tap into global diversity while also delivering critical design solutions for their businesses for creative, product and marketing teams. By supplying people in Africa with skilled jobs, the company focuses on continuous economic empowerment and socioeconomic advancement. Discover more at MeaningfulGigs.com.

2022 is sure to be a year of continued change as people increasingly rely on digital solutions. Explore these trends to see how they impact your life, and consider new technologies to meet your needs.

(BPT)

Small businesses are important parts of communities and a key driving factor of the current economic recovery. Modern technology and workplace trends are transforming how these organizations are run, not only to increase productivity, but expand the possibilities of the future.

New research found that the United States is home to 32.5 million small businesses employing 46.8% of the private workforce, according to the 2021 Small Business Profiles from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Combine small and medium-sized businesses, and you cover the vast majority of companies in the country — a powerful economic force.

“We see a bright future ahead for businesses in 2022,” said Eric Yu, Lenovo senior vice president, small and medium business segment. “Small to medium-sized businesses can utilize the best in technology to help overcome the challenges today and drive growth, engage employees and boost profits.”

Yu and the experts at Lenovo offer tips for SMBs based on their top technology predictions for 2022. Learn more at Lenovo.com.

1. Add hybrid workforce technology

Workplace culture continues to evolve with hybrid workforces here to stay. Technology is driving this momentum forward, enabling businesses of all sizes to remain agile and adaptable. SMBs should seek purpose-built technology solutions that bring equity, parity, presence and inclusion to hybrid work.

Emerging technology will also advance SMB growth, with augmented and virtual reality creating custom workplaces for employees, immersive training, efficient data analysis and enhanced productivity. Just imagine the possibilities of training employees virtually, tapping resources beyond what’s available locally and removing the need to travel. Technology makes this a reality.

2. Enhance digital security

Digital threats are as much a concern for SMBs as they are for large companies. Whether it’s private client data, proprietary company information or financial accounts, security must remain top of mind in 2022 as cybercriminals become savvier every day.

Prioritizing security with seamless authentication driven by artificial intelligence and biometric technology (such as fingerprint scans) will be key for SMBs as they further transition to public key infrastructure (PKI)-based device security, like those used today to access mobile banking applications, and multifactor authentication, for application and device access.

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3. Invest in modern monitors

The desktop monitors SMB employees use can transform their work experience for increased comfort and capabilities. Investing in modern monitors makes sense, especially for remote employees and those in technology roles. For example, SMB employees can seamlessly multitask through modern desktop monitors that offer larger screen real estate and single cable management for easy connections.

What makes these monitors different? Next-generation monitors feature higher resolution, new aspect ratios such as ultra-wide and low blue light tech to reduce eye strain. Monitors will extend functionality for SMB employees as they can provide a docking hub for connection of other devices such as smartphones, speakers, headphones and tablets.

4. Upgrade your accessory ecosystem

Beyond modern monitors, other aspects of home office technology are transforming, too. Creating an up-to-date and efficient workspace at home is important for productivity but also for personal well-being. Providing employees with complementary tools that bridge the gap between home and office will elevate the experience and empower hybrid working trends.

When researching new accessories for SMB employees, consider the most common pain points of power anxiety, poor audio quality and physical stresses of inappropriate input devices resulting from longer working hours. Power banks, noise-canceling headphones certified for unified communications platforms and ergonomic mice and keyboards will become more mainstream in 2022, allowing teams at SMBs to improve their work-from-anywhere capabilities and productivity.

5. Support agility and flexibility

The growth of hybrid and remote workplaces has elevated the need for work tools that allow employees to work when and where they want. Evolving form factors and better connectivity will become more ubiquitous, allowing SMB employees to set up shop almost anywhere. This flexibility can add strain to IT resources, and impact business capital expense.

SMBs need to consider as-a-service subscription-based models, not just for hardware but to support their solution lifecycle. Successful businesses will embrace this trend and seek vendors with end-to-end capabilities to securely deploy to remote users, offer hardware and software managed services and provide end-user tech support. As-a-service solutions reduce pressure on capital, allowing SMBs to redirect investment into new growth opportunities.

(BPT)