To stay competitive in the new year, it’s imperative for small business owners to keep up with the latest in consumer, social media and tech trends, as well as pay attention to what other companies are doing.

Here are just a few of the trends small business owners and entrepreneurs should watch for in 2026.

AI Integration

The integration of AI will continue into the new year as all companies, big and small, look at the most effective ways to incorporate evolving AI technology at their businesses.

In 2026, more small businesses will be moving from AI adoption to expanding usage, and some more deeply embedding AI in their daily operations.

More than half of small businesses told a recent survey by Tryv they were using AI, most of them daily, and 58 percent reported saving more than 20 hours a per month.

“Small business productivity will skyrocket as business owners use AI-enhanced automations for everything from marketing to invoicing and scheduling, to customer communications,” says Thryv CEO Joe Wash in a Business Wire release in December.

“Beyond that, the insights these automations produce, once only available to enterprises, create the opportunity for them to make data-driven decisions and anticipate business demands in ways they never could have before.”

TikTok Shop and Social Commerce Growth

As the social commerce trend marches strong, it’s TikTok Shop live shopping that stands out as the hottest to watch in 2026.

TikTok is driving social commerce growth, and is on track to make up nearly one-quarter of the sector, reported Emarketer in December. 

“TikTok’s ability to blend shopping and entertainment is turning the platform into an ecommerce powerhouse,” says Emarketer retail and ecommerce analyst Rachel Wolff.

TikTok Shop has expanded into more than 750 categories, offering more than 70 million products, according to the social media platform.

“Brands and creators hosted over 8 million hours of LIVE shopping sessions in the U.S., TikTok says on its website.

Further, the company points to a GlobalData survey that showed that 76 percent of consumers who engaged with TikTok Shop bought something from a livestream in the past year.

“Small business owners are using TikTok Shop to show up in new ways by telling their stories, going LIVE, and creating content that connects them with hundreds, even thousands, of people at once—and they are turning that reach into sales,” says TikTok.

More than 171,000 local and small businesses have found success on TikTok Shop, according to a post by the platform. Sales to small U.S. businesses have grown by 70 percent year-over-year, it says, and over a third of all TikTok Shop U.S. purchases each month in 2024 went to small businesses.

Emarketer predicts TikTok Shop’s ecommerce growth will increase by double digits through the end of its  forecast period in 2029, with sales expected to surpass $20 billion in 2026 and reach over $30 billion in 2028.

Social Media Customer Care Strategies

With expectations on social media customer care continuing to rise, so will the trend for personalized engagement and prompt responses in 2026.

It’s important for small businesses to create social media customer care strategies that support proactive and reactive community engagement, explains a post by Sprout Social. 

Just responding to a customer’s question can make a big difference on whether someone decides to shop at your small business --73 percent of social users told the 2025 Sprout Social Index that if a brand doesn’t respond to them, they’ll buy from a competitor.

While any response is better than nothing, it’s the timely, personalized responses that will be key to social media success, the blog says. “When you exceed their expectations, you reap the benefits of their loyalty.”

Personalized customer service should be a No. 1 social media priority, Sprout Social says.

“This isn’t surprising when you consider the real-time, conversational nature of social media platforms. They aren’t just for complaints—they’re for building relationships.”

Customer Experience Trends for 2026

The importance of creating positive customer experiences is here to stay, pushing that trend power right into 2026, particularly in retail businesses.

And ever-king to a positive customer experience is making the shopping-to-purchase journey easy, clear and reliable.

“Retail in 2026 is built around a hyper-digital consumer, informed in real time and accustomed to instant personalization,” says an article by Emarketer analyst Chris Wood.

“This consumer navigates fluidly between online and offline, seeking relevance, speed, and simplicity, and brands that cannot meet these needs risk being quickly abandoned.”

Fifty-one percent of shoppers say they will abandon a purchase if checkout takes too long, according to Shopify’s 2025 Global Holiday Retail Report. 

More than 40 (41 percent) of shoppers told Shopify free shipping and easy returns are top motivators for repeat purchases, and 20 percent of consumers cite lack of transparent shipping and pricing updates as a key reason they won't shop at a business again.

Also see, New Year, New Tech Tools for Small Business and Four Marketing Trends to Know if You Want to Grow Your Small Business