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Intro to New Business Models

Instructor: Mary Van Puymbroeck
New Business Models
Download the New Business Models Trend Report
Today's rapidly changing business landscape means it can be hard to find strategic clarity. The rise of the peer-to peer economy and the direct-to-consumer disruption of multiple industries has shifted power from industry heavyweights into the hands of startups and small businesses that are more responsive to shifting consumer needs. But since the advent of the gig and sharing economies, how has our world changed?

In this module, Senior Research Advisor and Futurist Mary Van Puymbroeck will take you through the three macro trends driving this evolution forward; Many-to-Many, Simplicity and Instant Entrepreneurship.
Related Trend Report: New Business Models
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Insights by Trend Hunter AI

Autonomous Merchandising
Retail systems now recommend and act on product decisions

Trend - Retail AI is moving beyond dashboards into systems that detect patterns, surface recommendations, and initiate merchandising actions. Brands are using these tools to shorten the gap between insight and execution in stores and digital channels. Retailers are also connecting discovery, assortment, and ordering logic more tightly so products can be surfaced and acted on within the same flow. The new value proposition is a move from passive analytics to software that is expected to influence commercial outcomes directly.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn customer and operational signals into timely actions, not just reports?
6.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Action-Oriented Retail AI
Action-Oriented Retail AI
Walmart Scintilla Connects Insights with Supplier Actions
Walmart is expanding supplier analytics through AI commerce intelligence as Scintilla evolves into a platform that connects retail data with faster decision-making. The system brings customer... MORE
Agentic Commerce Feature Updates
Agentic Commerce Feature Updates
Google Unveils Its AI Performance Insights and UCP Tools
Google introduced agentic commerce updates for retailers, including AI performance insights, Business Agent for YouTube ads and expanded Universal Commerce Protocol capabilities. The tools are... MORE
AI-Powered Shelf Intelligence
AI-Powered Shelf Intelligence
DoorDash Brand Center Connects Digital and Physical Retail Data
DoorDash is expanding its retail technology with Brand Center, a platform that combines consumer purchasing data with AI-analyzed shelf signals collected by Dashers. Brands can identify... MORE
Foundation Commerce AI Models
Foundation Commerce AI Models
Topsort Debuts Its First Large Commerce Model
Topsort is giving commerce teams a smarter way to rank products, answer queries, and choose what shoppers see next with 'T-Brain.' The company calls it its first Large Commerce Model, a foundation... MORE
Power Modularity
Household energy systems are arriving in stackable formats

Trend - Home backup products are being designed as modular systems rather than fixed-capacity units, and expandable power setups are showing up across both plug-in and solar-compatible formats. Brands are pairing base stations with add-on batteries so households can scale storage over time. This approach is intended to let consumers start smaller and add capacity as their routines or risk tolerance change.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn a one-time purchase into a system customers can expand over time?
6.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Expandable Solar Power Stations
Expandable Solar Power Stations
The EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus Now Supports 500W Solar Charging
EcoFlow's newly released DELTA 3 Ultra Plus power station pairs a 3,072Wh portable power station with a modular 500W solar panel. This bundle is designed for backup power and starts with a LiFePO4... MORE
Satellite Power Banks
Satellite Power Banks
PeakDo Unveils Its Semi-Solid-State Starlink Mini Power Bank
PeakDo's Starlink Mini power bank will use a semi-solid-state battery, a newer cell design that can keep the dish powered without an outlet while adding less bulk to a kit. It is a portable backup... MORE
Swappable Cart Batteries
Swappable Cart Batteries
PopWheels Shares Its E-Bike Batteries With Food Cart Vendors
PopWheels is testing a cleaner way for New York City food carts to stay powered without hauling fuel or buying a full battery setup. The Brooklyn company is running a pilot in Flushing Meadows... MORE
Modular Household Power Stations
Modular Household Power Stations
Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus V2 Delivers a Portable Backup Station
Jackery’s HomePower 1000 Plus V2 is a portable power station featuring modular expandability that can scale from a 1,024Wh base unit to nearly 11kWh with 2kWh expansion batteries. The system is... MORE
Power Convergence
Charging devices increasingly combine portability, speed, and feedback

Trend - Portable energy products are being designed as more complete toolkits rather than single-purpose backups. Across chargers, power banks, and larger stations, brands are bundling multiple functions into one device to reduce what people need to carry. This range shows brands responding to consumer expectation in different form factors: one purchase should cover more charging scenarios.

Workshop Question - How could your brand combine multiple everyday functions into one simpler product or service experience?
7.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Third-Wave Power Banks
Third-Wave Power Banks
The Chong Yue 3rd Gen Power Bank is Solid-State and Ultra-Safe
The Chong Yue 3rd Gen Power Bank brings solid-state battery technology to a compact, everyday unibody design to make it accessible for the average consumer. Solid-state batteries are gaining... MORE
Display-Equipped Charging Solutions
Display-Equipped Charging Solutions
UGREEN Expands its Portfolio with the Nexode Pro Series
UGREEN has expanded its Nexode Pro Series with two new display-equipped charging solutions — the Nexode Pro 160W Charger with Retractable Cable and the Nexode Pro 300W Desktop Charger. Both of... MORE
Ultra-Fast Portable Power Stations
Ultra-Fast Portable Power Stations
VTOMAN Debuts FlashSpeed 2400 and the FlashSpeed Pro 3600
VTOMAN has introduced two new portable power stations — the FlashSpeed 2400 and the FlashSpeed Pro 3600. These innovations combine ultra-fast AC charging, long-life LiFePO4 batteries, and... MORE
play_circle_filledPortable Power Banks
Portable Power Banks
The Baseus PicoGo Series is a Slim Portable Charging Lineup for Travel
The Baseus PicoGo Series pairs two ultra-slim power banks designed for travelers and everyday mobile charging. The lineup includes the 6.9mm-thin PicoGo Air 5K with a 5,000mAh battery and the... MORE
Ultra-Compact Tech-Forward Charger Innovations
Ultra-Compact Tech-Forward Charger Innovations
BMX Debuts its GaNsta LCD Charger Series
BMX, a mobile power company known for its SolidSafe range, has launched its GaNsta LCD charger series on Amazon. The drop calls attention to three models — the 140W, 100W, and 70W. These combine... MORE
Intent Interfaces
Work software parses goals, surfaces assets, and suggests next steps for review

Trend - Agentic productivity platforms are shifting focus from general all-purpose dashboards to intentional, objective-driven systems. These systems integrate each element of task setup into one place, enabling quick and clear progression toward objectives by aggregating relevant, rather than generic, resources, information, and recommendations that would normally require multiple tools.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn a customer or employee goal into a ready-to-review plan instead of making them navigate tools step by step?
6.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Autonomous Executive AI Agents
Autonomous Executive AI Agents
Vertu Hermes Agent Now Delivers Workflow Automation
Vertu introduced the Alphafold foldable smartphone, pairing luxury materials with Hermes Agent, an AI assistant designed to automate executive workflows. The handset combines calfskin leather and... MORE
Agentic AI Data Platforms
Agentic AI Data Platforms
Sapio Agents Provides AI Co-Employees For Data Engineering and Science
Managing complex data workflows often requires specialised teams across engineering, analytics, and data science. Sapio Agents is an agentic AI platform designed to act as a digital data... MORE
Enterprise AI Platforms
Enterprise AI Platforms
Mistral AI Delivers Open And Portable Generative AI For Developers
Adopting generative AI can be challenging when organisations need a balance between performance, flexibility, and deployment control. Mistral AI is a generative AI platform that provides both... MORE
Agentic AI Customer Tools
Agentic AI Customer Tools
Sport Clips Launches Its Agentic Review Manager
Sport Clips introduced an agentic AI system to automate local customer engagement across its men's and boys' haircare franchise, featuring autonomous review replies and local search optimization... MORE
Agentic Resource Discovery
Agentic Resource Discovery
GitHub Copilot Discovers and Ranks AI Tools for Every Task
Agentic resource discovery is reshaping how developers interact with AI assistants by enabling GitHub Copilot to automatically discover and load the most relevant tools, skills, MCP servers, and... MORE
Workflow Orchestration
Agentic AI are consolidating business tasks into guided environments

Trend - A growing set of business tools now combine planning, generation, analysis, and optimization within a single environment that users can follow, supervise, and edit. Especially visible in marketing, design, hiring, and web creation domains, vendors are packaging these AI tools around complete, editable job flows rather than isolated features. The goal is to keep context intact and productivity high as work progresses across stages.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn a fragmented multi-step task into one guided flow that still leaves key decisions to the user?
5.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI Website Builder Platforms
AI Website Builder Platforms
Pixelesq Helps Businesses Build, Optimise, And Grow Websites With AI
Creating a website is only the first step — maintaining performance, improving SEO, and supporting growth often require ongoing expertise and resources. Pixelesq is an AI-native no-code website... MORE
AI Design Workflow Platforms
AI Design Workflow Platforms
Weavy Combines Professional Creative Tools And AI In a Visual Space
Creative professionals often rely on multiple applications to generate, edit, and refine visual content. Weavy brings these processes together in a node-based design platform that combines AI... MORE
AI Software Platforms
AI Software Platforms
PortalX Creates Intelligent On-Screen Guidance To Improve User Adoption
Helping users to understand new software quickly is essential for improving one's engagement and reducing support requests. PortalX uses AI to automatically learn how a product works and create... MORE
AI Interview Analysis Platforms
AI Interview Analysis Platforms
PolygrAI Uses Advanced AI To Analyse And Authenticate Interviews
Interviews contain valuable information beyond spoken answers, including communication patterns, tone, facial expressions, and behavioural signals. PolygrAI uses advanced AI technology to analyse... MORE
AI SEO Content Platforms
AI SEO Content Platforms
Machined AI Helps Businesses Scale SEO Content Creation With AI
Producing high-quality SEO content at scale can be difficult without sacrificing consistency, quality, or brand voice. Machined AI is an AI-powered content platform that helps businesses turn a... MORE
Service Copilots
Businesses are automating repetitive tasks with AI to free staff for exceptions

Trend - Customer-facing software is shifting from simple chat support to systems that can answer calls, field messages across channels, and complete basic service tasks on a company’s behalf. These systems are beneficial for offloading repetitive tasks, reducing wait times, and helping staff invest more time in higher-value work and relationship management.

Workshop Question - How could your brand use automated assistance to remove routine friction while preserving easy access to a person when it matters most?
6.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI Customer Support Platforms
AI Customer Support Platforms
Saski AI Delivers Automated Multichannel Support For Small Business
Providing fast and reliable customer service can be challenging for small businesses with limited time and resources. Saski AI helps automate support operations through AI-powered agents that can... MORE
play_circle_filledAI Customer Service Software
AI Customer Service Software
MirrorFly Is Introducing AI Agents For Customer Support
Self-hosted CPaaS provider MirrorFly has launched AI agents to help enterprises build their own AI assistance. This can automate and personalize the customer support, and it can be deployed to go... MORE
AI Concierge Assistants
AI Concierge Assistants
Playlist Launches a Specialized Virtual Front Desk Assistant
Playlist — the parent company of Mindbody, ClassPass, Booker, EGYM, and Kite — has launched AI Concierge, a virtual front desk assistant designed to operate around the clock for fitness and... MORE
AI Voice Agent Platforms
AI Voice Agent Platforms
PhinVoice Helps Businesses Automate Phone Calls With Human-Like AI
Managing customer phone calls can be time-consuming, especially for businesses that need to provide support, answer questions, and handle enquiries around the clock. PhinVoice provides AI-powered... MORE
AI Personal Productivity Assistants
AI Personal Productivity Assistants
Lumon Manages Tasks With An AI Assistant That Remembers Them
Managing emails, schedules, and endless to-do lists can become overwhelming when productivity tools lack personal context. Lumon is an AI-powered assistant designed to understand users, remember... MORE
Conscious Continuity
Fashion retail is shifting toward traceable and circular ownership
Trend - Fashion and textile brands are merging product traceability with circular retail models—allowing consumers to track sourcing, materials, or ownership histories while participating in conscious ecosystems; systems in which extend product lifecycles to reduce textile waste and overproduction.
Workshop Question - How could your brand create more sustainable experiences that encourage longer product lifecycles and deeper consumer trust?
5.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Circular Jewelry Marketplaces
Circular Jewelry Marketplaces
The Alloy Market Resells Estate Jewelry Instead of Melting It
The Alloy Market launched a new marketplace centered on circular jewelry marketplaces that allow estate and fine jewelry pieces to be resold instead of melted for scrap value. Through the... MORE
Circular Fashion Creator Programs
Circular Fashion Creator Programs
Visa and GFA Support Emerging Regenerative Designers
Circular fashion creator programs are helping emerging designers build businesses centered on resale, repair and regenerative fashion practices. The Visa Young Creators: Recycle the Runway... MORE
Circular Textile Materials
Circular Textile Materials
Syre and Target Expanded Their Textile Recycling Partnership
Syre and Target expanded their collaboration to integrate textile-to-textile recycled polyester into Target’s apparel and home categories, with meaningful product integration expected by 2030.... MORE
Fiber-to-Retail Traceability Pilots
Fiber-to-Retail Traceability Pilots
Recover and TextileGenesis Launch a Traceable Textile Pilot
Recover™ and TextileGenesis™ are set to pilot a new digital traceability program. Using Fibercoin™ technology, the initiative will track Recover’s recycled cotton and polycotton from fiber... MORE
AI Sustainability
AI brands are creating sustainability-focused ESG tools for businesses
Trend - AI-powered sustainability tools are emerging as assets for businesses aiming to reduce their environmental impact. These tools utilize artificial intelligence to analyze data, predict outcomes, and optimize processes, enabling businesses to make more informed sustainability decisions.
Workshop Question - How might your brand leverage AI to enhance sustainability efforts and meet the growing demand for transparency and accountability among environmentally-conscious consumers?
4.8
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Business-Focused Environmental Responsibility Tools
Business-Focused Environmental Responsibility Tools
WildSight Targets Corporate Leaders
WildSight has introduced an innovative platform aimed at helping businesses develop and implement effective eco strategies. The AI-powered solution is designed to simplify the complex landscape of... MORE
GenAI Planogram Tools
GenAI Planogram Tools
Optimum Retailing Launched Realgram AI at NRF 2025
At NRF 2025,  in-store intelligence and merchandise management platform Optimum Retailing launched Realgram AI, the industry’s first AI-driven, store-specific planogram tool to support... MORE
AI-Powered Enterprise Solutions
AI-Powered Enterprise Solutions
Arcadia Helps to Understand Complex Energy Landscape
Arcadia has introduced AI-powered enterprise solutions to help businesses manage their energy needs more efficiently. These solutions "bring together scattered data and processes into unified... MORE
AI-Backed Sustainability Tools
AI-Backed Sustainability Tools
Bain & Company Debuts an AI-Powered Sustainability Readiness Tool
Bain & Company is introducing a new artificial intelligence-powered sustainability readiness tool that is expected to help industry leaders who desire a method to accelerate their businesses' eco... MORE
Omnichannel Acceleration
Brands diversify retail presence across digital & physical channels
Trend - As traditional DTC models face growing challenges from supply chain disruptions and shifting consumer preferences, brands are rapidly expanding their presence across multiple retail channels. This expansion includes leveraging retail media networks, exploring social commerce, maintaining brick-and-mortar locations, and creating seamless experiences between digital and physical touchpoints.
Workshop Question - How can your brand create more seamless connections between its various retail channels?
4.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI-Powered Ecommerce Technologies
AI-Powered Ecommerce Technologies
Hugo Boss Launches a New AI-Powered Product Content Feature
Hugo Boss is enhancing its online customer experience by incorporating artificial intelligence technologies that streamline product discovery and interaction. Launching globally, the brand hopes... MORE
Efficient Omnichannel Fulfillment Centers
Efficient Omnichannel Fulfillment Centers
National Logistics Services is Building in Caledon
National Logistics Services has announced the construction of a new, highly automated omnichannel fulfillment center in Caledon, Ontario. This 624,000 square foot facility, which will feature state-... MORE
Omnichannel Automotive Services
Omnichannel Automotive Services
Automotive Mastermind has Adapted to Modern Consumer Patterns
Automotive Mastermind has adopted an omnichannel approach to automotive sales to address the evolving consumer patterns in the industry. This strategy integrates various channels, including online... MORE
Omnichannel Messaging Platforms
Omnichannel Messaging Platforms
DIDWW Aims to Streamline Global Business Communications
With global business communications on the rise, leading telecom operator DIDWW recently announced the launch of its omnichannel Messaging Platform to streamline international communication.... MORE
AI Service Automation
Service as a software AI solutions transform back-office operations
Trend - While consumer-facing AI applications continue to capture public attention, innovative companies are developing AI-powered solutions that transform traditionally human-intensive back-office operations. These solutions are creating new efficiencies in areas like accounting, compliance, customer service, and operational management by augmenting or automating routine tasks while maintaining service quality.
Workshop Question - How could your organization leverage AI to scale its service operations more efficiently?
4.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Comprehensive Analytics Platforms
Comprehensive Analytics Platforms
Heap by ContentSquare is a Smart Platform for Customer Analytics
The Heap service from Contentsquare is an advanced analytics platform designed to provide comprehensive insights into user behavior across web and mobile applications. By combining Heap’s... MORE
Restaurant Management Software
Restaurant Management Software
RestautoManager Simplifies Inventory, Staffing, and Online Orders
RestautoManager is a comprehensive restaurant management solution designed to streamline daily operations for food service businesses. This all-in-one software allows restaurant owners and managers... MORE
play_circle_filledAI Booking Agents
AI Booking Agents
MyNestor Affordably Helps Solo Professionals Manage Their Bookings
Being a solopreneur often means juggling every task alone, from marketing to administration, and while hiring outside help isn’t always within a small business’ budget, MyNestor was tailor-... MORE
Simplified SaaS Blogging
Simplified SaaS Blogging
OutBlogMe Streamlines Your Blogging and SEO for Your SaaS Project
OutblogMe is a NextJS boilerplate specifically designed to streamline the blogging and SEO processes for Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses. By providing a comprehensive framework, it allows... MORE