During this uncertain time we have all been adjusting to what our new lives may look like for possibly up to the next year with Covid-19. One of the biggest changes we have seen is in the work force. In this blog we will focus on what changes small business’s have had to make to adjust to the new normal.
At the beginning of the pandemic we saw over 100,000 small business close their doors as they were not essential to be open. The closure of small business’s has taken a direct impact on our economy and the people of the United states. Many small business took to the internet to try and sell what they could to keep themselves open. But most of the sales moved to retail giants as they were allowed to stay open, one of the biggest retail giants that remained open was Amazon. Amazon’s sales have spiked and they are prevailing during this time while we see small business closing and struggling to stay alive.
As our Economy has declined small business were given the opportunity to reopen with strict requirements to keep the staff and customers safe. Reopening the doors to local small business brought upon challenges that many did not consider. Sanitization is a very important part of keeping everyone safe. So when small business were planning their re openings they had to purchase cleaning and sanitization products which were not needed before. This added a whole new level of expenses for them, making it harder to reopen.
Small business’s have always found a way to adapt to the changes in the new world and competing with competitors of any size. Previously we looked at the future of technology and how it could change our world. With this pandemic we are seeing that the technology we have all thought about is coming to life. With self check outs and different ways to minimize direct contact between humans, we have seen many new technologies be introduced into our daily lives. With new way to shop online or pay online and pick up in store we have seen small business start to compete with the competitors that we causing them to shut down.
Having relied on being able to get customers into their store, small business’s are now working on trying to get customers to utilize them instead of the retail giants. Something small business have always been good at is adapting and changing to the new normal, which makes them experts at succeeding during the coronavirus. This includes: making sure that the customers are comfortable wile entering the business, finding way to engage with them that they are comfortable with, and being flexible with guidelines and customers.
Finally, looking at everything that we have read about we see that during this pandemic that things are changing rapidly and certainly. Small business have been struggling to stay open and compete but with new technology we see them raising up from the shadows and competing on similar levels with competitors of any size.