How will the world of franchising change in the year ahead? What are the trends and developments that are expected to shape the sector over the next 12 months? By taking time to stay abreast of how things are changing and where things are going, franchise owners can help ensure their business remains up to date with new technologies, and changing customer behaviours.
Bring your business up to speed for the New Year with this brief look at some of the franchise trends expected to dominate the conversation in 2026.
The maturation of AI
The adoption of AI tools in workplace settings is expected to grow even more widespread in 2026. In this rapidly changing field, new breakthroughs and developments are pushing things forward in a hurry, with expectations of a rapid evolution that sees AI move from handy tool to collaborative partner, an agent that works with us and helps solve our problems.
Franchise owners can benefit from this trend by taking time to identify common pain points at their business and seeking out tools designed to address these issues. It’s also wise to make a habit of searching out newly developed AI tools that might be able to automate repetitive tasks at your business.
Personalization and customization
Research shows that a growing majority of consumers expect some level of personalization when they interact with brands and businesses. Not only that, customers who receive personalized experiences tend to reward their preferred merchants with loyalty and higher spending.
In 2026, expect personalization to become more adaptive and predictive thanks to AI tools that use context awareness to react to a customer’s behaviour or mood. As these tools become more commonplace and affordable they’ll become increasingly accessible to smaller businesses, even those that don’t boast massive marketing budgets.
The search landscape is shifting
As search engines increasingly use artificial intelligence to generate a summary of results, rather than a list of ranked destination pages, businesses can no longer rely on people clicking through to the link they want to promote.
In some cases, people aren’t even using traditional search engines at all anymore. Instead, they’re learning about products and businesses by browsing social media sites or interacting with generative AI tools.
In this environment, franchise owners need to think differently about how they want the content they create to be discovered and consumed. First, it’s important to ensure your business information and presentation are consistent across platforms, including social channels and even map sites. Second, encourage consumers to interact with your brand’s online presence through comments and reviews. Both steps will signify to prospective customers (and to AI models) that you are an active, legitimate business.
Go long on short videos
Attention spans aren’t getting any longer, but you can still connect with your customers by showing them a good video. Just keep it brief, say 30 to 60 seconds. Short, engaging videos are often shared among users on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, giving your franchise a shot at becoming a viral success story.
When creating and posting video content, remember to shoot in the vertical, mobile-friendly format, and always use an eye-catching frame for the clickable image. Don’t keep viewers waiting for the action – they’ll tune out in a matter of seconds if you can’t capture their interest. Captions and calls to action can increase engagement, especially with mobile users who don’t (or can’t) have the volume on.
Hot growth areas include business services, food & drink, and kids
According to Entrepreneur, Asian food franchises and beverage franchises are among the hottest business trends heading into 2026. In a recent article listing the top 10 franchise trends for the year ahead, business services franchises and children’s education franchises were also among the businesses that saw growth in 2025, and are expected to get even bigger in 2026. Also on the hot list are junk removal franchises, health and wellness businesses, pet-related franchises, and personal care businesses.
Franchising with The UPS Store
If you are ready to step into a new career opportunity in the New Year with The UPS Store, be sure to check out our How To Become A The UPS Store Franchisee page for a breakdown of what you can expect. Our FAQ page also contains pertinent information and answers to our most common franchising questions. You can also fill out our online request form, and our team will reach out.
