In New Poll, Small Businesses Continue to Struggle Under COVID

With the holidays looming over retail, the picture is already not looking pretty and we haven’t even reached Halloween yet.

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69% of Main Street shop owners believe Q4 2020 will yield fewer sales than Q4 2019.

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According to recent polling by Boston-based Alignable, the small business online networking startup, 35% of retailers believe they may need to close by year’s end unless consumer behavior changes.

Photo by Jack Cohen

Many merchants say it’s hard to open when adjacent businesses continue to stay boarded. 

63% say they simply won’t survive without a major increase in Q4, with 33% expecting a decrease in sales of 50%.

Still, COVID has pushed many to amplify their marketing and innovate new ways of connecting with customers both online and on the street.

Tom Barrett

Theatre owners will likely be the last to see a return to business. Some probably never will.

Many are getting creative with outdoor tents and moving their fixtures to the street – a “farmer’s market” approach to retailing.

“We are so impressed by how much small business owners have adapted to make their operations very safe, driving greater comfort among their customers,” says Chuck Casto, a spokesperson for Alignable. “In many cases, they go above and beyond what their state regulations require.”

But with supply chains compromised, balancing budgets and stock on hand has made inventory management has that much harder. In fact, Alignable’s poll discovered that 59% of these businesses spent less on inventory this year over last year, which could be why so many consumers are still shopping from Amazon.

“We really need to see more consumers venturing out with their masks to their neighborhood merchants, instead of just ordering most of their items from the Amazons and the Walmarts of the world,” says Chuck. “Not only will they find great and often unique items in local stores, but by increasing their local spending they’ll help their communities recover more quickly, too.”

Alignable’s September State of Small Business report only underscores the precariousness of the American small business economy. Of the 1,437 merchants polled, more than 30% expect that COVID will continue impacting business-as-usual.

69% of Main Street shop owners believe Q4 2020 will yield fewer sales than Q4 2019, with many expecting less than half of what they earned last year.

“I don’t think the customers will have enough money or confidence in the economy to do much holiday shopping this year,” says one merchant interviewed by Alignable. “Many people will be grieving the loss of relatives or friends to COVID-19. I also think people will look at the holiday season differently — I don’t think they’ll be doing much gift giving unless it’s grocery gift cards.”

> Keep track of the small business economy with Alignable’s blog posts.

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