Digital, Robotic, and Data-Driven: Insights Into the Rapidly Changing Economy

BDC has released a report with the six trends that small and medium sized business owners need to know about for 2017.

Three of these trends relate to the rapid rise of the digital economy.

The report, called Future-Proof Your Business: Adapting to technology and demographic trends, was published in October 2017. Its other three trends are about people rather than technology: the aging workforce, the rise of the millennial generation and a more culturally diverse population. The two halves are connected. An aging workforce is one reason automation matters, and younger, digitally fluent customers are one reason online selling does.

It’s clear that digital technologies are changing the economy with automation, online markets, and by leveraging the power of data—but what can small businesses do in the face of these shifts?

Trend One: Virtual Marketplaces

The first trend to be aware of is the growth of virtual marketplaces. E-commerce is already growing rapidly in Canada, and it shows no signs of slowing down. BDC recommends that business owners build a cohesive online presence that reacts to and engages with its customers. This means social media, targeted ads that increase traffic, and mobile-friendly websites that appeal to customers who are reading reviews and shopping via their smartphones.

That growth got a sudden push a few years later. According to Statistics Canada, e-commerce’s share of total retail sales rose from 3.9% in 2019 to 6.6% in 2020 and 6.9% in 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic closed stores. Retail e-commerce sales rose 67.9% from February 2020 to July 2022, and stayed well above pre-pandemic levels after stores reopened.

Trend Two: Automation

The second trend is the automation of business activities. Automation refers to robots and artificial intelligence, but it also includes other digital technologies that increase productivity like customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Small businesses need to strategize for the future of automation now. This means involving your employees in choosing new technology systems, understanding your own knowledge limitations, and reaching out to third-party consultation if needed.

CRM and ERP are worth a quick explanation. A CRM system keeps a shared record of every customer and every interaction with them. An ERP system ties together the back office, such as inventory, purchasing, accounting and orders, so information is entered once and used everywhere. Neither is a robot, but both take repetitive work off people’s desks.

On the factory floor, it helps to know where Canada stands. In April 2026, the International Federation of Robotics reported that Canada had 241 industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees in 2024, behind the United States at 307 but well above the global average of 132. South Korea led the world at 1,220.

Trend Three: The Data Economy

The third trend that will impact entrepreneurs and small business owners is the rise of the data economy. Vast quantities of data are amassed by companies in their everyday operations. Loyalty cards, for instance, track consumer behavior and preference. However, many businesses still do this data collection by hand, which is not only prone to error, but burdensome.

With a projected estimate of 75 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2025, businesses need to use data wisely to optimize their day-to-day operations. This means gathering data more efficiently, but also analyzing it to generate insights that will drive your business.

The device count has grown fast, though not as fast as that projection. Research firm IoT Analytics reported in October 2025 that 18.5 billion IoT devices were connected in 2024, with 21.1 billion expected by the end of 2025 and 39 billion forecast for 2030. Different forecasters count devices differently, but the point stands: the amount of data businesses can collect keeps growing.

Where AI Fits In

In 2017, artificial intelligence was one item in the automation trend. Since then, it has become the thread that runs through all three. AI tools now write product descriptions for online stores, answer customer questions, and help make sense of sales and customer data.

BDC’s own offering reflects that shift. Its LIFT program (Lead with Innovation and Focus on Technology) offers consulting and preferential-rate financing to help businesses adopt AI, digital tools, cybersecurity, robotics and automation. BDC says it’s aimed at Canadian businesses with annual revenue of at least $1 million.

What It Means for Small Businesses

The three trends are easier to handle together than apart. A business that sells online collects data automatically. Data shows which tasks are worth automating. And automating routine work frees up time to serve customers better online and off.

The practical starting point hasn’t changed since 2017. Be easy to find and buy from on a phone. Stop collecting information by hand where software can do it reliably. And involve the people who do the work when you choose new tools, because they know where the time actually goes.