COVID and Small Businesses

So, what sparked this online shopping craze?! You guessed it, COVID-19.

For most in-store businesses before COVID, their income consisted of around 10% e-commerce sales. Now, nearly 50% of their sales are from online activities. This was great for larger businesses such as Forever 21 and IKEA who had already sorted funds into developing their online presence, or those who only have online to begin with (Fabletics??). But a lot of large businesses were not as fortunate.

With that, we should not get it twisted. COVID was not as detrimental for these larger corporations, as it was to our small, locally owned businesses.

According to Yelp data from Sept. 2020, out of the steady 97,966 businesses that said they were closing during the time of COVID, 60% have had to close their doors for good…

When it comes to clothing stores, 31,300 of those closures were clothing outlets for men. (there has been analysis done on gender differences, where more men are avoiding purchasing items in stores).

Although this reality is depressing to read, there are some things you can do!  

When you can, put your focus on locally owned businesses, since they are the ones impacted the most. Before heading to Target or Starbucks, do a quick Google search, or even a Google Maps *item near me* search for things you would like to buy. Who knows, you might find just the place for you around the corner.

Additionally, if you are avoiding shopping in person, omit what I said above, and continue your online shopping. However, I would encourage you to direct your energy and resources to those small businesses who have online platforms, or those who were always online-only.

In my next post, I will be speaking specifically about online shopping, and some pro tips to shop more ethically.