11 Industries That Barely Existed Two Decades Ago

Many industries have come and gone throughout history. Even more have seen such drastic changes that they are barely recognisable today compared to their early days. In the last two decades, quite a few new business sectors have emerged or grown stronger, including these eleven notable ones.

1. Marijuana Industry

In the UK, recreational marijuana use is still illegal, but in other parts of the world, the recreational marijuana industry is thriving. In 1996, California made medical marijuana legal, leading to the beginning of this industry in an organised and official manner.

The sector saw a significant shift in 2012 when Colorado and Washington legalised cannabis for recreational use. The industry was worth an impressive $33 billion in 2023 and is projected to continue to grow. In 2018, the UK passed legislation legalising medical marijuana, introducing this new industry to the country.

2. Online Gambling Industry

The UK may have been slower to legalise marijuana use than the US, but it led the way when it came to legalising and regulating online gambling, another relatively new industry that has exploded in the past decade. The industry became formally regulated in the UK in 2005, while in countries like the US, it’s only been legalised in several states and only in the past decade.

Regardless of whether they’re in the UK or the US, online gamblers can now find a wide selection of online casinos. They can even take advantage of bonuses like free spins on deposit offers with no wagering, which encourage new players to engage with this thriving multi-billion dollar industry.

3. Social Media Industry

It’s hard to exist today without some connection to social media. These platforms exist in our personal lives, have created many new job opportunities, and have shaped a massive global industry. While the industry’s roots can be traced to the 1990s, it began making waves in the 2000s when platforms like Myspace and Facebook became major sensations.

4. Mobile App Industry

Mobile apps, like social media, were just beginning to take shape in the 1990s. Today, they’ve created an industry that creates many jobs and offers mobile users a range of uses, from practical apps like calendars to entertainment apps like mobile games.

5. Sustainability Management Industry

Sustainability has been a concern for many people for decades, but the last two decades have accelerated environmental awareness and sustainability initiatives at organisational levels. With this have come many new roles, such as sustainability managers and whole new departments and organisations, enough to create an entire industry focused on sustainability.
These jobs, departments, and organisations work with people and the environment in mind to create sustainable practices that serve both interests. These types of practices have become something many consumers expect from corporations and are a huge point of public concern in how governments and other organisations operate.

6. Clean Technology Industry

Similar to sustainability management, the clean technology industry has also been rising. The last two decades have seen this type of technology propelled forward faster than ever before, and it is also in increasingly high demand. This industry involves many aspects of daily life, from energy production and manufacturing to transportation options and recycling methods.

7. E-Commerce Industry

E-commerce began to take off in the 1990s but has flourished in the last two decades as more people gained access to online devices. Before the 2000s, there were only a few online storefronts, but now there are countless e-commerce platforms and digital shops. These shops have helped make the industry worth over $5 trillion. China and the United States are the most significant contributors to this industry, though the industry has a substantial global presence—e-commerce sales account for 19% of all purchases globally.

8. Streaming Industry

Whether we stream music, TV shows, movies, or YouTube videos, it’s easy to forget that streaming didn’t exist two decades ago. Major streaming services launched in the mid-2000s, with YouTube leading the way in 2005. Since then, other major corporations have created streaming platforms that provide consumers with a vast range of streaming options and endless hours of entertainment.

9. AI Industry

The concept and theories of artificial intelligence have been around for a very long time, but it’s only in the last few years that the industry has taken shape and grown significantly. Today, we can use AI to generate anything from a blog post to a video with just a few taps on a keyboard—something we could’ve only dreamt of two decades ago! And this ability is just the tip of the iceberg regarding AI and machine learning. The technology has been used in a vast range of applications, influencing industries as diverse as online gambling to healthcare, and the recent advancements show promise of even more applications in the future.

10. Autonomous Car Industry

Driverless or autonomous cars may fall within the broader car industry, but the advancement of this technology is one deserving of a mention in this article. Driverless vehicles were, for a long time, just something in our imaginations, but much like generative AI, we’ve seen strides in bringing this to reality in recent years. The driverless car industry is still relatively young and is working through many issues, but it holds a great deal of potential to shift the auto, delivery, and other related industries in significant ways.

11. Space Travel Industry

While humans have long been fascinated with space travel and even put a man on the moon in 1969, we’ve seen the space technology industry give way to the space travel or space tourism industry in the last two decades. The uber-wealthy have started investing in the possibility of commercial space travel, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX being one of the best-known organisations paving the way.

Conclusion

The developments across industries in the last two decades have been wildly varied and impressive, from healthcare and entertainment to space adventures. Not all developments have been smooth sailing or free from public concerns or criticisms, but they’ve all been remarkable in way or another.