Phase 2: Are Our SMEs On The Road To Recovery?
After spending more than two months away from family and friends, Singapore finally entered Phase 2 on 19 June 2020. Since then, we’ve been able to gather in groups of 5 for social activities, have our meals at hawker centres or restaurants, and even head to the cinemas to catch the latest movies.
With certain restrictions eased and noticeable crowds showing up at shopping malls, will our small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) finally experience an improvement in their businesses?
Some Got Lucky While Others Not Quite
With many people leaving their homes since the opening of Phase 2, we’ve seen snaking queues at shops around Orchard area as well as popular shopping malls like Plaza Singapura.
For homegrown brand Spa Esprit Group, they have experienced an overwhelming demand from customers of its waxing salon chain Strip. Ms Samantha Ong, marketing director of its beauty division, mentioned:
“We’ve received over 2,000 messages in the past few days. All our phone lines are jammed as everyone is making appointment bookings since earlier this week, when the phase two reopening was announced.”
However, not all SMEs are seeing an increase in sales during this specific phase. One group of SMEs facing this obstacle would be the food and beverage (F&B) businesses located in the central business district (CBD). With majority of the CBD office workers still working from home, these F&B operators are starting to lose their core customer base. Mr Zilch Ng, owner of Lagoon In A Bowl at Amoy Street Food Centre, said:
“We are very affected, there’s no dine-in crowd because our main crowd is from the offices. So we are paying a lot for things that we don’t utilise.”
Woes That Accompany The Necessary Restrictions
Most SMEs are delighted and positive about the current phase — chances of their businesses picking up would be higher and employers would no longer have to worry much about laying off their employees — despite tight safe distancing measures that are still in place.
For others, there are certain worries and concerns that are making them anxious about their business outlook in Phase 2. Mr Joshua Lung, owner of spa chain Healing Touch, stated that:
“My main concern now is whether safety will be excessively restrictive until it discourages customers from returning as it significantly impacts the experience.”
In addition, Mr Amit Kumar, outlet manager of Wala Wala, shared that the restaurant and bar would only be able to earn about 10% of its usual takings because having to enforce the imperative safe distancing measures meant removing its popular outdoor sitting area.
What Can Obbo Provide?
While Obbo might not be able to solve the woes of many during this tough time, we hope at least provide comfort and support to some. In light of the changing consumer behaviour in Singapore that’s leaning towards online shopping, we want to support SMEs in their attempts to go digital.
Obbo has partnered up with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to introduce the Covid-19 SME Go Digital Package because we believe that no SME should be left behind as we continue to advance in this digitalised world.
Visit Obbo B2B Marketplace’s page to find out more on how we aim to empower our local SMEs both digitally and globally. Let us work hand in hand to show some support for our community of sellers and emerge stronger together through this difficult period!
