The social media giant, Facebook, has recently published a new report on the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on small and medium-sized businesses. The report incorporates responses from over 30,000 small business owners across fifty different countries. "Global State of Small Business Report" highlights the key concerns and challenges faced by business owners as they seek to maintain operations during the lockdowns.
The insight given is important for virtually every business as the flow-on impacts will relate to spending in nearly all aspects, and will have far-reaching economic impacts. Here, we will discuss some of the keynotes and charts. Firstly, the social media giant notes that the job crisis is ongoing around the world, and likely to carry on for some time even after the coronavirus pandemic ends.
According to Facebook, one-third of small businesses surveyed reported a reduction in the workforce due to the coronavirus lockdowns. The report reveals that 26% of businesses across the globe had to completely shut down their operation between January and May of this year. Moreover, 50% of businesses had to shut down in some countries.
According to the data, 54% of tourism agencies and 47% of hospitality and event-related small businesses reported approximately total shutdowns during the pandemic. This reveals that tourism and event-related businesses have been the hardest hit during the lockdowns.
However, all sectors have reported significant sales impact due to the coronavirus pandemic, and those impacts are universal as all regions reported similar levels of impact across their SMB sector. Most businesses reported that they have been able to keep the same number of workers on their books, largely because of government subsidies. However, some regions have also been forced into significant workforce reductions.
Most business owners remain optimistic as 74% of businesses that were closed during the survey expect to open again as lockdown measures continue to lift in some countries. However, the risk of a second wave will also impact businesses as some regions are seeing with various cities being forced back into lockdowns as cases spike after initial easing.
Many businesses have also turned to online options to maintain their operations during the pandemic. Over 50% of businesses were making at least 25% of their sales online in 15 of the surveyed countries. As more individuals come to realize the benefits of online shopping, it will lead to new habitual behaviors. Overall, the report presents a fairly downbeat view of the current situation, though hope remains that we will get back to normal. It is important to support your local businesses as SMBs make up a significant amount of business activity.
Read next: Facebook’s Researchers Describe a Technique to Isolate Speech in Recordings of up To Five Individuals
The insight given is important for virtually every business as the flow-on impacts will relate to spending in nearly all aspects, and will have far-reaching economic impacts. Here, we will discuss some of the keynotes and charts. Firstly, the social media giant notes that the job crisis is ongoing around the world, and likely to carry on for some time even after the coronavirus pandemic ends.
According to Facebook, one-third of small businesses surveyed reported a reduction in the workforce due to the coronavirus lockdowns. The report reveals that 26% of businesses across the globe had to completely shut down their operation between January and May of this year. Moreover, 50% of businesses had to shut down in some countries.
According to the data, 54% of tourism agencies and 47% of hospitality and event-related small businesses reported approximately total shutdowns during the pandemic. This reveals that tourism and event-related businesses have been the hardest hit during the lockdowns.
However, all sectors have reported significant sales impact due to the coronavirus pandemic, and those impacts are universal as all regions reported similar levels of impact across their SMB sector. Most businesses reported that they have been able to keep the same number of workers on their books, largely because of government subsidies. However, some regions have also been forced into significant workforce reductions.
Most business owners remain optimistic as 74% of businesses that were closed during the survey expect to open again as lockdown measures continue to lift in some countries. However, the risk of a second wave will also impact businesses as some regions are seeing with various cities being forced back into lockdowns as cases spike after initial easing.
Many businesses have also turned to online options to maintain their operations during the pandemic. Over 50% of businesses were making at least 25% of their sales online in 15 of the surveyed countries. As more individuals come to realize the benefits of online shopping, it will lead to new habitual behaviors. Overall, the report presents a fairly downbeat view of the current situation, though hope remains that we will get back to normal. It is important to support your local businesses as SMBs make up a significant amount of business activity.
Read next: Facebook’s Researchers Describe a Technique to Isolate Speech in Recordings of up To Five Individuals
