During the pandemic, many businesses have been affected, and it will take some businesses a long time to recover fully while others have closed completely.
For instance, if your business operated solely on people buying from your store physically, that means during the lockdown, you probably did not have any business. Several businesses operate solely online and are doing well.
Online business has got very many benefits, other than not paying rent. Read on to learn how brick and mortar businesses are suffering during the pandemic.
Unemployment
Most people lost jobs during the pandemic. If you work for a brick and mortar business, you may not have been able to work because of the lockdown. People were asked to stay at home with no income coming in.
It’s only the people that were working online that were able to fairly survive the pandemic without being affected so much.
For some of these employees, they might never get these jobs back because even the brick and mortar offices or businesses are hurting too.
They can survive without employees being in the office or working solely online. It is believed after the pandemic, most businesses are going to downsize to keep afloat.
New Ways of Purchasing
It is believed that after the pandemic is over, most people are going to be purchasing online. However, once in a while, people might move out to “breath” fresh air and interact with people.
However, generally, the new purchasing is going to be online. This means brick and mortar businesses are going to run out of businesses. If you get a few customers walking in a few times a month, are you still doing business?
Major Discounts
If brick and mortar businesses are to stay afloat, they have got to offer major discounts on their products to attract customers. Remember you need them to walk to your store and buy.
Therefore they should have a reason good enough to attract them to your store. Question is, for how long will you offer these discounts? Besides, is it sustainable?
As you do this, your competitors are selling online and don’t have to inconvenience customers by having them walk to your store. Online businesses may/ may not have to offer these discounts.
Health Regulations
Brick and mortar businesses have to comply with the health and safety regulations set out by the World Health Organization. For instance, if you expect customers to walk in your store, you must ensure everyone is wearing a mask and are given hand washing equipment or sanitizers.
Also, their temperature must be taken at the entrance so that you don’t allow in potentially sick customers. All this requires extra manpower, which increases your costs, yet, you are not earning. In the long run, it may not be sustainable.
Small Businesses Must Adapt
If brick and mortar business wish to keep afloat – especially during the pandemic – then, they must learn from their competitors. If your business does not have some sort of online presence, then, it should.
Consider creating a website for your business via Squarespace or WordPress, or create a simple Facebook page for your business.
Conclusion
Most brick and mortar businesses have been affected by the pandemic. Everyone is in lockdown, and customers are limited. Already they were facing huge competition from online companies, like Amazon, eBay, and others.
This is why some of them have filed for bankruptcy while others are scaling down on their employees. To stay afloat, these businesses should come up with ways to reduce overhead costs.
