If 2020 was the year of digital commerce, touchless payment and reinvented retail, 2021 will be about businesses increasingly at the mercy of platforms.Products, retail experiences and serving customers are going to matter, but how profits are maintained amid dependence on new platforms remains to be seen. Platforms usually win. That is why every company wants to be one.Yes, retailers and small businesses that were digital survived, but many of those quick transformational technology efforts were powered by platforms. Just like media and advertising became beholden to Facebook and Google, businesses are going to depend on companies ranging from Instacart to DoorDash to Square to Shopify. These commerce enablers were business savers, but enterprises of all sizes are going to struggle to find the balance between costs, digital reach and profits.
+INFO: ZDNet
