PHOTO: E-Commerce. Image by rawpixel.com
The world is constantly changing. In the past few years, some new industries were born while others collapsed. If you’re a smart investor, you probably don’t plan to risk your money in a sector that’s going down.
Instead, you want to keep an eye on booming sectors. AI is an excellent example. People had doubts about the future of Artificial Intelligence less than five years ago. Now, all the big tech companies are racing to create the next big smart chatbot.
Should you invest in AI? Maybe you should. But before you make a decision, discover the fastest-growing industries in New Zealand below.
Online Gambling
Online gambling is not yet legal in NZ. But this doesn’t mean Kiwis never play slot machines or poker. According to the law, casinos can’t set up their offices in the country. However, Kiwis can bet through foreign gambling websites.
Indeed, hundreds of offshore casinos and sportsbooks accept players from New Zealand. The best new online casinos NZ welcome all new players with generous rewards, from free spins to first deposit bonuses.
Bonuses increase a player’s bankroll, which is why casinos with promotions are always in demand. On the other hand, bonuses help operators acquire more customers and increase their revenues.
From an investor’s point of view, starting an online casino is not easy. You can’t acquire licensing in the country, so you have to set up shop in a place where iGaming is legal. Most casinos opt for Malta.
That being said, there are many ways to invest in iGaming. You can create an informational website targeting casino places. Then you can monetize it using affiliate links and adverts.
E-Commerce
E-commerce is not exactly a new industry. It’s been around for more than two decades. However, the sector is now growing faster than ever. The explanation has everything to do with the pandemic.
During Covid-19, most people who couldn’t live their houses embraced online shopping. Post Covid, these shoppers didn’t stop buying online. In fact, they’ve become more complex.
Shoppers are no longer using online stores to buy non-consumables only. E-commerce has advanced to become the go-to place for buying everything, from groceries to medicine. Importantly, Internet users are becoming less loyal to big stores and brands. In turn, this is fueling the growth of small stores from all around the world.
Before you launch an online store, though, understand the industry’s trends. For example, learn how dropshipping works. More and more investors are opting for drop shipping over running an e-Commerce store.
Artificial Intelligence
Open AI’s Chat GPT bot seems to be blowing everyone’s mind. The bot launched at the start of this year and has since attracted millions of daily users. What’s more, Chat GPT seems to have triggered red alert alarms at Google and Microsoft.
Microsoft responded to Chat GPT’s success by investing $1 billion in Open AI. It also promised to invest $10 billion more in the company. Additionally, the company has launched an AI-powered chatbot for Bing users.
Google initially downplayed the power of AI chatbots. But after Chat GPT turned into an overnight success, the folks at Alphabet are working on their own version of the app.
Although talks about the AI industry are focusing on smart chatbots, Artificial Intelligence can be used for multiple purposes. For example, most social media networks use AI to power their algorithms. Additionally, cloud storage providers, search engine companies and major e-Commerce stores are all using AI in various capacities.
Cybersecurity
The digital economy is growing fast. But so is cybercrime. According to a survey by McKinsey, cyberattacks will cost the world economy more than $10 trillion by 2025.
This calls for more investment in the industry. In 2021, global companies invested over $150 billion in digital security. But it wasn’t enough. Cybercrime is still on the rise. Worse, it’s evolving.
According to McKinsey, 40% of the malware used to attack digital companies in 2021 has never been observed before. In other words, there’s a huge market opportunity for people who can create solutions to existing cybercrimes.
The cybersecurity industry is in dire need of experienced security experts. Secondly, there’s a need to use AI and machine learning to minimize human-made errors.
Drop Shipping
As the demand for online stores increases, new trends are coming up. One such trend is dropshipping, which involves selling products without necessarily buying stock beforehand.
Basically, you launch an online store with all the products you plan to sell. Then you partner with manufacturers and suppliers. When a customer orders an item, you notify the supplier, who ships the item directly to the customer.
Drop shipping is a $200 billion industry according to Statista. The reason is that getting started in the industry is easy. No need to buy real estate. No need to buy stock. Yet, you control the prices and the profits.
Because you have control over what you sell, you can test different products regularly. You can test the demand for one product this week. And if it struggles to sell, you can switch to a different product.
Esports
Put simply, e-Sports describes the world of competitive gaming. Esports exploded in the last decade, rising from an Internet pastime to a billion-dollar industry.
According to Statista, more than 400 million people identify as eSports fans. With so many people supporting eSports, there’s a lot of money to be made in the sector.
Video game publishers are the biggest beneficiaries of this ballooning industry. The companies behind Madden Football, C: GO, League of Legends and Fortnite make hundreds of millions of dollars by selling in-game purchases and by organizing competitions.
Other major players in eSports include gaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook. Then there are gaming equipment manufacturers and content creators.
If you’re an investor, there are plenty of opportunities in eSports. For example, you can become a Twitch influencer by streaming video games to millions of fans. Alternatively, you can buy stocks in eSports companies. Another idea is to launch a website that sells gaming products.