By Christiana Ioannou
The impact of Covid has remain a global issue. Its impact is seen in most sectors, if not all, but in this article we will focus on the economic affect of covid in various nations of the world with respect to small businesses. Let’s see how the pandemic has affected the small scale business world.
Over the years, small scale businesses has helped to meet the needs of individuals especially portable and perishable products and this has really helped to shorten the gap between customers and their desired products. The impact of covid on small businesses became more intense when restrictions were put in place in order to curb the spread of the disease. The lockdown, movement and sales restrictions and more have contributed to the ripple effects that small businesses around the world are facing.
Small Businesses Fell out of Competition or wind up
The pandemic led to lots of winding up of small businesses especially newly formed businesses and start-ups. Because of the sudden arrival of the pandemic, and the longitudinal existence of the disease, several small businesses couldn’t withstand the impact because they were caught unaware.
Small businesses like; Retail shops, C stores, saloon, Eateries and many more couldn’t make it through after the first 2 to 3 months of the pandemic and this has led to the premature extinction of their business. Although, this is not to exclude other established businesses around the world, some survived the first wave but couldn’t keep up while others are still struggling to gain balance so they won’t fall out of competition.
Most of the small businesses around the world are almost not functioning to capacity and many are not functioning at all.
Many small scale businesses that are beginning to establish their product and identity in the market, began to fall out of competition gradually because of the pandemic. People, in general, are beginning to take precautions on the kind of product they consume during the lockdown thereby going for the established brand they’ve been used to for several years. The lockdown didn’t make it any better for small businesses, only well recognized industries and key organizations could partially operate during this period, making all start ups or small businesses relegate to inactivity for a long period of time and they began to loss their customers which eventually led to many of them winding up.
Small businesses during this period do not make the profit that was expected and this is largely because of the lockdown. People spend almost all their time with their families which make the small businesses around not needed for so much service deliveries. Few product quantities are made and wholesalers get the largest share, even the willing retailers are careful not to demand for to much quantities, because people are not available to patronize. Most of the small businesses around the world are almost not functioning to capacity and many are not functioning at all. The major sector that was and still is in the receiving end during this pandemic is the economy sector of nations and their small business units.