Digital disruption: risks and opportunities in the shift to online

The pandemic has accelerated the pace of digitalisation. The Economist Intelligence Unit looks at how companies and countries can thrive amid the resulting market disruption.

From the start of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it was clear that digital businesses would be among the few winners. And so it has proved. Lockdowns have encouraged a remarkable acceleration in digitalisation across many sectors, from online retail and digital finance to online entertainment and telehealth. The effect is already causing market disruption that will only be amplified as the global economy recovers.

Areas of opportunity will open up for companies that move quickly to develop new digital products and services, but there are also some serious risks that could undermine companies’ ability to grasp those opportunities. As well as spotlighting the key opportunities and risks, our report “Digital disruption: risks and opportunities in the shift to online” outlines 16 factors – from the regulatory environment to infrastructure – that will determine the pace of digitalisation in different economies over the next five years.

The rapid advance in digitalisation has been one of the few bright spots to emerge from the pandemic, offering companies new opportunities even while their previous business model has been upended. But the shift online will become even more disruptive in the year ahead as many traditional companies fail to keep pace. That will bring an uneven economic recovery, with workers forced to change their jobs and skills to thrive.

ANA NICHOLLS, MANAGING EDITOR, INDUSTRY BRIEFING

Download our report “Digital disruption: risks and opportunities in the shift to online” to find out more.