Small Business Trends for 2025

As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2025, we can see many major trends shaping up that will significantly impact small businesses in the coming year and beyond. Here are some of the biggest trends that will affect small businesses in 2025.

E-Commerce

By now, every business should know about the importance of e-commerce in the modern marketplace. However, it’s still worth mentioning that this aspect is critical for any small retail business that wants to succeed in 2025. E-commerce currently accounts for 20% of all retail sales and is likely to grow significantly in the coming years, representing a full quarter of all retail sales by 2030.

Every small business selling merchandise should have an e-commerce component to their business. This doesn’t have to be a big investment. For many businesses, something as simple as an eBay or Amazon shop is enough of an e-commerce presence. However, there are many e-commerce platforms available that make it not much harder to open your own digital storefront, which can be more profitable. Sellers’ fees on the big platforms can range from as little as 8% to 45% or more. In contrast, the popular e-commerce platform Shopify charges $29 per month, plus credit card and third-party payment provider fees for its basic plan. Take the time to calculate the relative costs and benefits of having your own website versus having a seller page on one or more of the big marketplaces.

Online Marketing

If you are trying to make sales online, you will also need to be marketing online. Businesses that aren’t marketing online risk losing more than just online sales, though: failure to market your business online can mean that your business won’t show up when people try to use their phones to find nearby shops. The minimum digital marketing each small business must do is to claim and maintain their listings on the major search engines.

However, if your business wants to profit from e-commerce, it’s important to pursue a multifaceted online marketing approach. This marketing approach should include:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Pay-per-click (PPC)
• Social media marketing
• Content marketing

Your online marketing should also be what is described as a full-funnel approach, targeting potential and actual customers at each stage of the decision process from basic awareness through decision-making and to repeat business.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is essential for all businesses.

For e-commerce operations, cybersecurity should be incorporated from the very beginning. Whether you have a shopfront in a big marketplace or set up your own storefront with a major e-commerce platform, you should have enough cybersecurity built in to protect your small business from related lawsuits. However, if you are building your own e-commerce platform, you must take care to build adequate safeguards.

But cybersecurity is important for more than just e-commerce businesses. Any small business that collects credit card payments and retains any amount of customer information is a desirable target for hackers. Even if you don’t have a lot of information to steal, you might still be a victim of a ransomware attack that can hold your business hostage.

Remember: cybersecurity is about more than just technical security features. It’s important to train yourself and all your employees to identify and avoid common socially engineered cyber-attacks.

Tariffs

If your business imports merchandise or materials, tariffs are likely to have a big impact on your profit margins. With proposed tariffs of up to 50% on some items from our largest trading partners, you are likely to see increased costs. Even if you don’t import items directly, you might see increased costs because your domestic trading partners are seeing their costs go up.

You will have to decide how much of this cost to pass on to your customers and how much you can afford to absorb.

On the other hand, some businesses may benefit from tariffs, making it easier to recoup the costs of running a small operation.

Business Uncertainty

However, if you’ve been paying attention to the news about tariffs, you’ve noticed that the administration has given mixed messaging about the timing, focus, and size of tariffs. Tariffs were supposed to start immediately, then were postponed, then were on again, then off again. Right now, it’s unclear when and how the tariffs will affect the market.

This uncertainty can make it hard for your business to make its plans for the upcoming year. Should you contract with a foreign supplier and hope for the best? Would it be better to work with a more expensive domestic supplier? Would other disruptions in the US economy make that domestic supplier an unreliable partner?

This uncertainty won’t just be affecting you, but it will impact the entire business environment around you. There is already evidence that consumer confidence is falling, which could significantly impact your revenue, but how is this a temporary situation or likely to become a more permanent condition?

Fewer Grants and Loans

Another difficult situation for many small businesses is that they may find it harder to get grants and loans from the Small Business Association (SBA) under the new administration. Funding cuts have been announced which may impact all small businesses. In addition, these funding cuts may impact small businesses owned by women and minorities more as there have historically been more funds available to these businesses than other businesses.

However, the SBA is touting an expansion of the 504 loan program to make it easier to access capital loans for manufacturing.

In Denver and several other cities, access to SBA support is further complicated by the removal of local offices.

Changing Regulatory Environment

Some small businesses may see relief in reduced regulations this year, which could diminish their costs and make it easier for businesses to enter industries where regulations had previously led to uncertainty or liability exposure.

To promote the removal of regulations, the SBA has announced a Red Tape Hotline, where businesses can call to report regulations that represent an undue burden.

Get Legal Help for Changing Times

When it comes to navigating the challenges of the modern marketplace, a small business lawyer can be a tremendous help. With years of experience and experience with many clients across the board, a small business attorney is in a great position to identify both challenges and opportunities for your business to help you make the most of each.

Since 2010, the Law Office of E. C. Lewis has been helping small businesses to prosper no matter the conditions. Elizabeth Lewis strives to develop long-term relationships with her clients. This means that she will be there whenever you need her help in dealing with the newest trends affecting your small business. She has worked for years with many small businesses, and she knows the challenges you’re facing and how other businesses have successfully navigated them. She believes in doing what it takes to help your business prosper and will customize her legal services to ensure you are getting what your business needs to navigate changing conditions.

To learn how Elizabeth can help your small business in 2025, please contact the Law Office of E. C. Lewis today.