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Use of tech going forward: We'll always try to find the latest and greatest technologies. Tech is becoming more reliable than complicated, especially for younger employees who have had tech in their lives from the start. e pros and cons of tech: e biggest pro is availability of information. But the downside is when technology doesn't work the way it's supposed to. John Coffman, Coffman's Sporting Goods, Louisville, KY Current tech usage: I use technology as little as I have to. Tech's impact on your business: We shut down our online team stores aer COVID-19 because they got too complicated to manage. Now we only take orders over the phone and we do our inventory on paper. Use of tech going forward: It's hard to say. Technology means more fees and we have to put up with more people trying to interfere with the business. e pros and cons of tech: Right now, there's so much fraud in technol- ogy – such as hacking, phishing and malware – it's hard to keep up with everything. I try to stay offline as much as possible. Betsy Frye, Holyoke Sporting Goods, Holyoke, MA Current tech usage: We use online stores but we don't have an e-commerce website. We also have POS and inventory systems. Tech's impact on your business: Online stores have really taken off and have been fantastic. We've been doing team stores for more than 10 years — we launched our first one in December, 2011. We have eight stores open now. It's a much more organized way to do business and it provides an easy payment system. Use of tech going forward: We plan to update our POS systems, but it's too cost-prohibitive right now. e pros and cons of tech: e best thing about technology is speed. No more hand-written, snail-mailed orders. I can go online and track pack- ages so I always know where my orders are. It gives the business great flexibility. e bad thing is that people think they know too much; even though there's a lot of information out there, simply going online doesn't make you an expert. Most customers don't know which companies to trust and which ones are the most reliable — they're on their computers checking prices, but they don't have the background knowledge of dealers. Curt Hauff, owner, Dakota Lettering, Sioux Falls, SD Current tech usage: We use online stores and they've accounted for 20 to 25 percent of our business for the past year or two. We also utilize ShopWorks business soware for the reporting of sales info and we use websites, social media and third party soware to communicate with customers. Tech's impact on your business: Technology has allowed us to do more with fewer people and it helps generate sales online quickly and affordably. Use of tech going forward: We're looking a little bit at AI apps, but this is fairly new and still in the experimental stage for us. Right now, we use AI to put text over video for social media. We still need to have people in production and we still need sales people. But tech will continue to evolve and we'll find areas in which it will improve the customer experience. e pros and cons of tech: Technology does a lot for us and it allows for extensive automation. But when it doesn't work, it feels like you're back in the 1980s. n 1. Artificial intelligence will become more widespread. Technology company NVIDIA found that AI deployments in retail stores caught 98 percent of instances of the, fraud or human error, which led to a quick return on investment. Additionally, implementation of AI could include voice assistants, personalized customer experiences and e-commerce chatbot services. 2. There will be an increased focus on cybersecurity. e shi to new working practices has spawned new forms of fraud and malware is evolving due to greater virtual communication and the rising domestic use of workplace hardware. However, research firm BullGuard reports that nearly 60 percent of small businesses think it's unlikely they'll be targeted in a cyberattack. In fact, cloud security company Barracuda found small businesses were three times more likely to be targeted in phishing attacks than enterprise-sized companies. 3. Tech-assisted retail shopping will expand. Mobile payments have grown to include QR codes, mobile terminals and mobile wallets. Shoppers are increasingly comfortable with these ways to shop and pay, making them viable investments for small businesses with limited staff. 4. Businesses will place a greater emphasis on automation. Many business owners are now looking seriously at workplace automation as a way to save money and cover problem areas. "With continued shortages of workers within select domains, automation investments will continue to increase," says Omri Traub, co-founder and CEO of e-commerce company Popcart. n FOUR TECH TRENDS TO COME Many tech experts opine that this year is set to further trends that had emerged at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some key advances that businesses should watch, according to a recent report from Business News Daily. 36 • September/October 2023 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com TEAM BUSINESS

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