The spread of the COVID-19 infection that started from Asia has managed to devastate Europe as well. Not only has it spread all around the world damaged people’s health and security it has also impacted each country economically.
As every country has a way of battling the epidemic, so does every country have a way of dealing with it economically. The main way of battling the pandemic is special distancing and people in Britain are practicing it in order to flatten the curve and help it go away faster. Companies are also suffering because of this as revenue is decreasing.
But the ones that suffer the most are small businesses that usually relied on things that are not as relevant right now.
How are Small Businesses Impacted
Direct contact is greatly forbidden right now. Keeping a traditional store open currently is not a good idea. In fact, it is banned by the law and small shops need to close completely and wait for the pandemic to blow over. This means no income whatsoever for the time being. This also means facing a fierce situation and potentially having to close for good.
But smaller businesses did find a way to keep running during this time. A no-contact delivery system has been imposed. So you can even see some flower shops still delivering their flowers. The deliveries are done with their own transportation vehicles and workers are heavily protected with masks and gloves. Payment is done via online banking and credit cards, so they only need to bring it to your address and leave it there. No contact whatsoever.
Many smaller businesses are employing this system and it seems that is holding up for now. As long as there is no actual physical contact, owners can adjust their deliveries to keep both the customers happy and keep everyone safe at the same time.
Help is On the Way
The British Government has realized the situation these smaller businesses are in and have promised help. The UK treasury has announced that they are expecting to deliver around 3 billion pounds per month to some 3.8 million self-employed workers in the country.
The announcement came in March when the British government told their workers that they will be getting 80% of their monthly average as long as it does not go over 2,500 pounds.
However, the financial injection that small business owners are expecting is not going to come before June. Also, this announcement came a bit late and it took them a while to determine the situation. I guess nobody has been expecting the devastation that the virus is causing economically in the country and the world.
A lot of Businesses are Still going Under
Unfortunately, there are still a lot of businesses that are going under due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Many of them do not have the means to organize a delivery system. Some of them are not able to do that as their method does not support this type of service.
Traditional pubs, for example, are greatly impacted. Smaller local pubs that people like to visit are now without customers. Having a pint delivered to your address is not the same as going down to the pub with the chaps and watching the game on the TV.
Many similar businesses are going down due to the situation and them not being able to adapt to the situation. Some of them are able to stand idly by and wait for the situation to blow over but the questions still remain for how long are they able to do that.
Uncertain Times
We are in the midst of a crisis and everyone needs to adapt. Until a vaccine is found the only way is to let the virus die out. Social distancing and self-isolation seem to be the only way of doing that at the moment. Predictions still say that if we manage to hold down that things are going to get back to normal in a few months. But the uncertain period, until that happens, is the toughest one to bare.
None of us is going out the same out of this and it seems that smaller business is getting the shorter end of the stick.