Why COVID-19 is a good excuse for retailers to expand

The figures are in, and they don’t make for pleasant reading. For businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of a disaster. Hundreds of thousands of firms have registered with the UK government’s furlough scheme because they don’t have the liquidity to survive.

When you look at the figures, an expansion appears to be the last thing you require. If anything, it’s bordering on craziness since you can’t tell when the COVID-19 crisis will finish. However, businesses must take risks, especially when there are silver linings that you may not spot until it’s too late.

With that in mind, here are the reasons why you should consider an expansion.

Stockpiling

The idea that every companies’ sales are falling off a cliff isn’t accurate. In some cases, businesses are benefiting from the fact that customers are stockpiling goods and products in uncertain times. If you’re one of these lucky organisations, you should have the resources to consider growing at a quicker rate, and if you don’t, you can position yourself as one. Plenty of companies have designed a takeaway service to enable them to appeal to customers who haven’t been able to eat out while restaurants were closed. There are tonnes of inspiring stories to motivate you to plug a hole in the market.

Lower expenses

Your business expenses aren’t guaranteed to fall, but the odds are high. With pretty much every sector affected by Coronavirus, companies must make changes to attract consumers and clients to spend money. The tried and tested method is to slash prices in the short-term and increase them later on down the line. This means you can pay less for essential solutions, from warehouse automation to cloud computing software, that you require to grow. Retailers have multiple opportunities to lower their overheads and expenses if they negotiate fair-but-hard.

Social media shops

If your website is online and active, you may not see the point in a Facebook or Instagram page shop. In many ways, they are the same thing with different owners. Yet, SMEs shouldn’t underestimate the impact of marketing. Half of the battle is reaching target demographics to convert their interest into sales, yet people are already on FB and the ‘Gram for forty minutes per day. From an expansion perspective, this means you can directly promote your products and services without wasting money on needless advertising and branding costs. You can convert the followers you already have with a shop page.

University enrolment rates

Uni rates were expected to drop as a result of the pandemic. On the contrary, establishments around the UK are experiencing a stable intake of new students. When you factor in the fact that many businesses won’t survive the health crisis, you’re left with a work experience hole. The top undergraduates and graduates won’t have as much competition for their services, which is where you can swoop in. By offering them a chance in a fast-paced environment, you get quality, part-time workers without the hefty price tag.

Expanding may not be on the agenda, yet you shouldn’t dismiss it out of hand because of COVID-19.