NEW DELHI: Over eight in 10 urban working professionals in India claim the novel coronavirus has a large or moderate impact on their business and declining sales is expected to be the greatest commercial woe in the future, a small-yet-significant survey said on Thursday.
Baby Boomers (born between 1944 and 1964) were more likely to feel the effect of COVID-19 disease on their business compared to the other age groups, according to the survey of 251 senior business professionals by YouGov, an Internet-based market research and data analytics firm.
Only 8 percent said the impact was minor and 7 percent claimed to have no impact at all.
Canceled or delayed business trips emerged as the most visible initial impact of the coronavirus, according to 60 percent of the respondents. Almost as many indicated (58 percent) there was a drop in sales. India is currently under a 21-day lockdown and businesses have shut operations and services, excluding those part of the essential services.
More than half claimed (55 per cent) to introduce hygiene measure and supplies in the company and sensed insecurity and safety concerns among employees (53 per cent). “Many said they were facing HR- related issues such as- increasing number of employees working from home (46 percent) and increased employee sick leaves (39 percent),” the findings showed.
Two in five faced interruptions in supply chain (45 per cent), suffered office or store closures (42 per cent) and experienced reduced working hours (47 per cent). On a slightly positive note, 9 per cent said they witnessed increase in sales as a result of this outbreak.
The data suggested further disruption on the horizon with four in five respondents (82 per cent) saying the virus is very likely or fairly likely to affect their business in the future. “A slightly higher proportion (61 per cent) are expecting to see decrease in sales in the future compared to those already seeing such a decline,” said the survey.
There are few (10 per cent) who look at this as an opportunity and feel there will be an increase in sales in the future. “Not only do Indian working professionals see a bleak future for their businesses but the vast majority (93 per cent) feel the Coronavirus will have a large to moderate impact on the country’s overall economy. Only 7 percent reckon the impact will be minor,” the survey said.
