Calgary, August 26, 2020 – Despite businesses reopening and operations resuming, six out of ten Alberta small business owners fear consumer spending will stay low even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, says a Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) survey. The only bigger concern for Alberta small business owners is the impact of the current crisis on the economy (79 per cent).
“Small business owners are really worried about regaining pre-COVID-19 revenues. Customers are back but often in smaller numbers than usual,” explained Laura Jones, Executive Vice-President at CFIB.
As of today, the Small Business Recovery Dashboard shows that in Alberta:
- 67 per cent of small businesses are fully open;
- 36 per cent are fully staffed
- Only 21 per cent have resumed their normal sales levels.
As part of the #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign, CFIB encourages all Canadians to join the collective effort to support local small businesses. This weekend, RBC’s Canada United campaign will give consumers even more motivation. Simply by shopping at local businesses from August 28 to 30 and entering the contest on Canada United’s website, consumers will get a chance to win one of 25 prizes for $10,000. Other initiatives and ideas to support local shopping are profiled on the SmallBusinessEveryDay website.
“As consumers, we can be creative and find different ways to support the small businesses that need it. Supporting our favourite businesses today gives them a tomorrow. The government can also help by ensuring support measures for big bills like rent are available,” said Jones.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Annie Dormuth
Alberta Provincial Affairs Director
403 700-1945
annie.dormuth@cfib.ca
Source for CFIB data
Data on worries regarding consumer spending are final results for Your Business and COVID-19 – Survey #18, online survey from July 31 to August 13, 2020, n = 5,220. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-1.4%, 19 times out of 20.
Data on Small Business Recovery Dashboard are preliminary results for Your Business and COVID-19 – Survey #19, online survey started August 13, 2020, n = 5,119. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-1.4%, 19 times out of 20.
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region, including 10,000 in Alberta. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
About #SmallBusinessEveryDay
The #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign encourages local shopping, promotes initiatives to support small business and provides posters and other tools for businesses to use. It is supported by Scotiabank, Chase Merchant Services, eBay Canada, Intuit Canada and Interac Corp. To find out more about being a media sponsor please contact marketing@cfib.ca.
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