Vancouver – The BC Economic Development Association (representing over 300 local, Indigenous, and regional governments in BC), the BC Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Small Business BC, and Community Futures BC, launched a survey on March 13 to understand specific impacts BC businesses are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and hear their proposed solutions
As of March 18, almost 8,000 businesses had responded to the survey.
The data paints a dire picture of what businesses are experiencing now and what they expect to be facing in the near future
1. An overall summary of the data
3. A breakdown by size of business
Here’s the quick analysis:
- 90% of businesses are “currently being impacted by COVID-19”
- Of those impacted, 83% are seeing a “drop in revenue, business, or deal flow”
- 91% anticipate a further “decrease in revenue in the near-term” [sic]
- 73% of businesses expect their revenues will drop by 50% or more (with nearly a quarter saying revenues will drop by 100%)
- Half of the respondents say they will be “temporarily shutting down” their offices.
- 64% of respondents expect to reduce their staff by over half (with a quarter saying they will be reducing their staff by 100%)
Meanwhile, Abbotsford Economic Development is closely monitoring developments around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) through regular updates from the World Health Organization, Public Health Agency of Canada, BC Centre for Disease Control, and Fraser Health Authority.
In addition to monitoring the situation from an economic standpoint, the City and CAED team are working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Abbotsford’s economy and local businesses.
CAED would like you to encourage each you to shop local and support each other. Here are some other suggestions to help your business:
1) Encourage businesses to switch to online shopping, take out or drive thru – or encourage your customers to do so.
2) Home delivery option – offer this for your customers
3) Facetime shopping options through Facebook or other social media
4) Offer alternate shopping hours for seniors, disabled, or immune compromised
