Get ready to shop… but differently!
By Ilona Guérin
The coronavirus outbreak has left many companies in financial distress, particularly in the industries of travel and hospitality. Small businesses have suffered during the pandemic due to their smaller revenue in the past, hence low liquidity, making it harder for them to stay open than bigger companies. This outbreak has pushed consumers to shop online, putting aside the importance of smaller businesses. This causes them to have much fewer savings than multi-million dollar companies, making it harder for smaller businesses to stay open. The spreading virus has shut down borders, ceasing the arrival of tourists, impacting small businesses who would have made a profit off of the influx of new shoppers.
Moreover, the lockdown, which was due to an international state of emergency, has forced shops to close and small businesses to shut down or file for bankruptcy. The closing of these businesses has left owners uncertain of how they’ll be able to afford payroll, as well as paying rent and spending for their personal expenses. Business Insider states that “Most small businesses lack the cash reserves to weather a month-long interruption, and forecasts indicate more than 2 million workers could lose their jobs in just one week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.” So how have these small companies found ways to sell their product without putting anyone in danger?
The owners are forced to be flexible and creative, as they need to fulfill the demand of the customers who continue to need goods and services even during the quarantine. Many shops and restaurants have adapted to the circumstances by putting into place unusual advertising of deals or vouchers, which will be redeemable once the lockdown ends. These deals encourage customers to shop in these small businesses and help the owners get more customers to compensate for the lost money due to the lockdown. Several owners have also started to use social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook to inform their customers of their upcoming plans, delivery systems, or how they can help keep the small businesses running. Additionally, curbside pickup and local delivery have been extremely sought-after amid small companies, as it is the closest solution to in-person shopping. Since the store business model involves in-person browsing, some creative store owners in Maui came up with the idea of videocall shopping, where the employee gives styling advice and shows around their collection.
In China, where the population has been in lockdown since January, small business owners struggling to pay loan payments, payroll, and rent end up turning to friends and family for emergency loans as income becomes scarcer by the day. In an article by the South China Morning Post, a businessperson testified on his hard role: “All the entrepreneur friends I know, either in the service industry or the manufacturing industry, are already in debt. Many of us, including me, have been forced to max out our credit cards or even start selling properties and cars to maintain our business operations” The prevalent Chinese manufacturing business is struggling due to the numerous order cancellations in Europe and the United States because of the spread of the virus.
In the New York City area, some restaurant food suppliers have started delivering their premium ingredients to the public to avoid the waste of useful products. They sell in the same bulk quantities as they do for the restaurants, then deliver, helping some families to avoid going to the supermarket. Who knows, you may need those 5 lbs of salad! Supermarkets are a place where the risk of getting infected is higher, and the possibility of providing food is helping these families find their needs without encountering a shortage. This new way of accessing healthy and good ingredients by the general public, enabled by these restaurant food suppliers, might carry a long-term positive effect on their customer base.
As some states saw improvement in the number of Covid-19 cases, they allowed shops and restaurants to reopened for summer, small businesses have been ready to go back to a sense of normalcy and have encountered real support from their neighbor-customers. Indeed, an article by Retail Wire analyzes new consumer behavior, who are now more conscious of the importance of local businesses, and taking their part more seriously by buying from them more instead of mass-producing companies online. A small business owner states that “This pandemic moment is supercharging society’s shop local mindset and highlighting the critical importance of small businesses in our economic makeup.” The small business owners have shown resilience and have shown their capabilities of adapting to every circumstance, finding every solution possible to stay open and to draw more customers to their business. In an article by Barbara Thau in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, she interviews a consumer psychologist who says that“[she] think[s] this crisis will shift the pendulum back towards recognizing expertise and artistry in all areas of business.”
So start getting used to shopping consciously and locally, because our creative store owners are here to stay, and they need our support!
