For SMEs, staying ahead of consumer trends can be a major driver of growth. While large retailers have dedicated trend forecasting teams, smaller businesses often rely on gut instinct, and some are proving they can compete by tapping into social media and search data trends that shape consumer demand.
To understand how SMEs are turning trends into revenue, SumUp surveyed 500 small business owners and decision-makers across the UK. The findings reveal how SMEs identify emerging trends, the impact of trend adoption on their business, and the risks involved in investing in trends.
How London SMEs spot emerging trends:
Over half (57%) of London SMEs are confident in spotting trends, with 16% describing themselves as very confident, actively tracking and adapting their offerings, while a further 41% said they feel confident enough to make occasional adjustments. Another 24% said they are somewhat confident but struggle to assess which trends are truly relevant to their business, while 11% admit to lacking confidence in spotting trends or not tracking trends at all.
When it comes to where SMEs look for inspiration, over a third (35%) turn to industry news and events, indicating a preference for credible, sector-led insight. Meanwhile, an equal proportion (35%) rely on social media, which has become a place where consumers often create and share new trends, and businesses look for opportunities to join in.
Other ways that small businesses learn about emerging trends include customer requests or feedback (28%), assessing their competitors’ offerings and success (22%), and through their suppliers or partners (21%). Interestingly, 6% admitted they do not seek out trends that could impact their business.
Risk vs impact: How SMEs experience and evaluate trend adoption:
For small businesses, adopting new trends can carry risks. Limited budgets and resources mean that they don’t have the financial flexibility to take chances on ideas that may not pay off.
When asked about the biggest risk associated with following trends, 21% of SMEs in London said they worry about wasting time on short-lived fads. A further 17% expressed concerns about being left with excess stock or materials that could become difficult to shift. Meanwhile, 12% of SMEs said the financial risk of following trends is simply too high.
SMEs also expressed concerns about whether trends will appeal to their existing customers or attract new consumers (16%), appearing to imitate competitors by adopting trends too late (13%), and diverting focus and resources away from their best-selling products (13%).
Only 11% of SMEs in London said they don’t associate risk with following trends. But, for those who have adopted them, the results are largely positive.
Almost half (48%) reported a positive impact, including 17% who said they experienced a significant boost. A further 31% reported a moderate impact. Just 1% of SMEs reported a negative outcome, while 30% said they hadn’t adopted any new trends in the past year.
The UK overall: How SMEs turn trends into revenue:
Half (50%) of SMEs expressed confidence in their ability to spot trends, with 13% describing themselves as very confident, actively tracking and adapting their offerings, while a further 37% said they feel confident enough to make occasional adjustments. Another 24% said they are somewhat confident but struggle to assess which trends are truly relevant to their business, while 15% admit to lacking confidence in spotting trends or not tracking trends at all.
When it comes to where SMEs look for inspiration, over a third (34%) turn to industry news and events, indicating a preference for sector-led insight. Meanwhile, 29% rely on social media, which has become a place where consumers often create and share new trends, and businesses look for inspiration.
Other ways that small businesses learn about emerging trends include customer requests or feedback (25%), assessing their competitors’ offerings and success (21%), and through their suppliers or partners (18%). Interestingly, 14% admitted they do not seek out trends that could impact their business.
When asked about the biggest risk associated with following trends, 26% of SMEs said they worry about wasting time on short-lived fads, which can often leave them stuck with excess stock or materials that are difficult to shift. Furthermore, 15% of SMEs said the financial risk of following trends is simply too high, while another 13% worry about investing in stock or materials that could end up unsold.
SMEs also expressed concerns about whether trends will appeal to their existing customers or attract new consumers (13%), appearing to imitate competitors by adopting trends too late (13%), and diverting focus and resources away from their best-selling products (12%).
Only 18% of SMEs said they don’t associate risk with following trends.
UK SMEs that embraced viral trends reported positive outcomes. Over a third (34%) have had a positive impact from trend adoption. Of those, 10% said they experienced a significant boost, while 24% experienced a moderate positive impact.
Meanwhile, 15% saw no measurable change, and only 2% reported a negative outcome. Nearly half (46%) said they hadn’t adopted any new trends in the past year.
Corin Camenisch, Product Marketing Lead at SumUp, commented on the survey, saying, “As champions of small businesses, our research highlights the unique challenges and opportunities SMEs face when navigating trends.”
“Success can often depend on the ability to spot and act on emerging trends, whether it’s incorporating a seasonal drink to your menu or investing in viral products. We ran this survey to capture first-hand experience from SMEs navigating the process of turning trends into revenue.”