THE PLIGHT OF SMALL BUSINESSES & HOW TO STOP IT

With the global pandemic not going away anytime soon and in some parts of the world rearing it’s ugly head again, some businesses are finding it hard to see light at the end of the tunnel, and even closing up shop for good. It is truly saddening and shocking that five months ago prosperous businesses have seen their profits evaporate with rent and other costs looming large.

 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes the decline of the global economy as the worst since the Great Depression, with it shrinking by 3% this year. The deep sense of uncertainty is having an affect in all corners of the world, and retailers face challenges never seen before. How consumers will react remains to be seen, and talk of the “new normal” will look like still cannot be ascertained. 

It’s a hard time for almost all brick and mortar, mom and pop stores globally - but even in the darkest of times there is still opportunity to be found. A global Visa study finds 67% of small businesses and 78% of consumers have adopted new behaviours to adjust to COVID-19.
While this is promising news, it will take even more adjusting and new ideas to keep most small businesses afloat in these turbulent times. 

 One interesting change from the pandemic that needs to be recognised is how it has led many new consumer segments to use online avenues as a means of shopping. As the older and more vulnerable generations as well as all the others move online, merchants also have the need to build a more inclusive payments system that makes it simple for all online users, new or experienced, to access and pay for goods and services. 

 One angle some businesses may not have investigated and considered fully is the potential of dropshipping… Sure, e-commerce would have been brought up and their online presence bolstered, but just how far have small business owners looked into having re-sellers try to market and sell their products on their behalf, through social media and other means?

 A true Dropshipping solution for SMEs could open up a whole new avenue of desperately sought after profits that some businesses may not have thought possible during these difficult times. Social commerce is being brought to the fore faster than anticipated, with Asian markets already way ahead of the curve. 

Having multiple resellers market their products on their behalf and create orders out of thin air seems too good to be true, but it’s not the case: online spend has reached $77 billion more than expected in June 2020

The solution is simple, open your product line and eCommerce capabilities up to a hugely growing world of online sales. The time is now, consumers are shopping online more than ever before due to the pandemic, just look at Amazon’s last quarter revenue of $88.91 billion

I will leave you with this: retailers that are ready to find new methods of marketing and selling their goods (i.e. dropshipping + social/e -commerce), provide consumers with an experience that minimises time-in-store and proximity to other people will be in a good position for the (already in motion) changes in consumer behaviour. That’s why we launched our startup (dropshyp.com) in 2019, to support SMEs and small brands as well as to also help entrepreneurs and drop-shippers with quality suppliers and products to source from. With Dropshyp, we not only are helping SMEs increase their international presence but also to drop-shipping to start a business within minutes.