Celebrate the Good: Americans Step Up For Small Businesses

In a late July survey funded by Canva, surveyors found that a significant number of Americans responded to the call to support small businesses in local communities across the country. At a time when small businesses feared closing in massive numbers, communities requested extra support in order to overcome these challenges. With massive eCommerce giants and in-person superstores like Walmart, Amazon, and Target, small businesses can be overshadowed, but since the pandemic struck in March, many communities have seen a substantial uptick in support and generosity directed toward small businesses. It is reassuring and positive news that Americans responded to the call for increased support and worked to support their small businesses and therefore the overall health of their communities.

Roughly four months after the pandemic reached the United States and businesses began to shut down, the survey found that 79% of respondents said that they changed their view on the importance of small business as a result of the pandemic. Furthermore, this resulted in 70% of them responding that they have taken this as a wake-up call and shifted their purchases away from large corporations in favor of small businesses. Not only have communities worked to support small businesses, but those that have been supporting them have done so with great generosity. Respondents on average have supported ten small businesses with roughly half of that support going to restaurants. Those who are ordering food have shown even more generosity as 50% of respondents said they regularly tipped delivery drivers in excess of 20% and for many, up to 28%. 

In addition to the increased support for small businesses, most respondents reported that the place they have most missed during the COVID-19 pandemic is a small business of some sort. These responses mean that communities are eager to return to their favorite small businesses in-person as soon as possible. Small businesses fill the niche of community gathering places that large corporations rarely do. Not many people are clamoring to go shop at a big box store when the pandemic passes, but many are impatiently waiting for the day they can ditch the worry and sit in their favorite coffee shop, restaurant, or bar and once again begin a normal routine at their salon or gym. To round out the positive news, the survey reported that 74% of respondents feared their favorite local small business may not survive the pandemic, but 77% said they plan on continuing their increased small business support even after the public health crisis is over. While the pandemic has been hard on many small businesses across the country, communities have come out in support of them, and the awakening of small business support is likely to continue into the future at rates higher than previously seen in the pre-COVID-19 world. 

Trying times are often a stimulus to bring communities together and to spur innovation across industries and individual businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic is not an exception. Communities across the country have seen an outpouring of support for small businesses with new customers and even new campaigns to encourage the support of small businesses. This is further bolstered by the enthusiasm small business goers have for returning to restricted services once normal life resumes. From eCommerce innovation, new business models, and contactless innovations, small businesses have worked diligently to make their services available in the midst of the pandemic, and as a result, many have discovered viable business strategies that they can continue to rely on in a post-pandemic world. 

Want to share your own great story of 2020? Reach out to us today at info@nmblstrategies.com to be featured.