Coronavirus

Facing COVID-19 Fears: Eight Out of Ten Americans Fear a Second Wave

June 18, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

A new survey from Ipsos/Axios had lots of interesting details about how Americans are feeling at this unique juncture in time, as states begin to reopen their economy, with a commensurate rise in cases of coronavirus. As many readers may know, this is an area…consumer sentiment…that I try to keep tabs on, as 70% of the U.S. economy is based on consumer sentiment.

And one piece of this research jumped off the page and grabbed me by my throat – 8 out of every 10 Americans worry about a second wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

See how consumers feel about COVID-19 now

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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, A Popular High-End Event in October, is Canceled

May 20, 2020 by Ted 6 Comments

Photo of the venue where the now canceled Rocky Mountain Audio Fest RMAF was to take place — *The Gaylord Rockies Resort where the now-canceled RMAF 2020 was to take place* [Click to enlarge]

On Tuesday, promoters of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest – a well respected and popular event for the high-end specialty audio segment – announced that they were cancelling the show scheduled for October 2-4, 2020 in Aurora, CO. Like many other industry events this year, the reason was due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

See more on the RMAF cancellation…

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With Original Event Canceled, IFA Now Says It Will Hold a New Live, In-Person Show in September

May 19, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

IFA 2020 is an all-new 3-day event in September 2020

Promoter Says It Is Putting ‘Health and Safety First’

Saying they are putting “Health and Safety first,” IFA announces they have received the appropriate government approvals to hold a live, in-person trade show event in Berlin this coming September. The announcement was a dramatic departure from their previous announcement in April cancelling this very event. But will anyone choose to attend?

See more on IFA effectively un-cancelling their show…

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Strata-gee’s COVID-19 Impact on Tech II Survey: What a Difference a Month Makes!

April 30, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Strata-gee COVID-19 Impact on Tech II Survey

Now completed, Strata-gee’s COVID-19 Impact on Tech II Survey is a follow-up study to Strata-gee’s original survey, COVID-19 Impact on Tech. If you haven’t read those original results yet, I would suggest you start there by clicking on this link as it will add context to the follow-up survey discussed here. And this time we learn that things have definitely changed in just five short weeks. In a nutshell, survey respondents report that the impact of COVID-19 this time around is much greater than in March.

See more of what the Strata-gee COVID-19 Impact on Tech Survey is telling us…

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Group of 20 Prominent Exhibitors Call on Producer of AXPONA to Cancel Event

April 22, 2020 by Ted 5 Comments

Cites COVID-19 & Economic Hardship

In an “Open letter to Joel Davis of JD Events,” a group of 20 prominent personalities in the high-end specialty audio industry – who are also contracted exhibitors – call on the producer of AXPONA to cancel the event. AXPONA had already been previously rescheduled by its production company from the originally planned April 17-19 dates…to August 7-9, due to the expanding COVID-19 pandemic.

Now some exhibitors are publicly calling upon the show’s producer to fully cancel the event for 2020 altogether, as COVID-19 – and the economic damage it’s causing – continues to be a major issue.

See why exhibitors want AXPONA canceled…

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Fear Factor: Consumers’ Fear Suggests a Slow Recovery from Recession

April 16, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

Photo from Manhattan showing stores closed due to recession and very few people on the street — [Photo: Juan Arredondo, New York Times]

COVID-19 Recession: Will Rebound be a V…U…or W?

The Coronavirus pandemic has hit America big time. With a head-spinning swiftness, the epidemic swept across the country with ruthless efficiency – first impacting densely populated urban areas (NYC, LA, Chicago), then spreading its tentacles throughout more sparsely populated regions of the country. It has extracted a devastating human toll, striking fear in the hearts of consumers, and brought a once bustling economy to a screeching halt…plunging it into recession.

We have never seen anything quite like this and for business owners and managers…we are truly in uncharted territory. With almost 85% of all Americans now subject to some form of Shelter-In-Place or Stay-At-Home order, everything except essential services, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, has been closed down – and most companies have seen their sales disappear. Will a fearful consumer complicate our recovery from this recession?

See more on what kind of rebound to expect…

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Stuck in COVID-19 Isolation? Country Music Star Says ‘Thank Goodness for Technology’

April 8, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

'Thank goodness for technology' says country music star Miranda Lambert

An astonishing 283 million Americans are stuck in some form of self-isolation or self-quarantine due to the fact that most states and cities have imposed a “Stay-at-Home” rule in the fight to snuff out the COVID-19 pandemic. This new reality in which we find ourselves means that almost all businesses (except for a few essential services) are closed – and millions of Americans are stuck at home with little or nothing to do. But what role does their technology play in this situation?

Thanks to Technology, we can all be connected…

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As Overall Economy Hit by COVID-19, Layoffs Hit Tech as Well

April 2, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

AudioQuest Announces Downsizing

A relatively large number of readers and industry sources have reached out to Strata-gee with word of cutbacks and layoffs at various industry brands – as the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) takes its toll on the U.S. economy. As was reported in a post just a few days ago, jobless claims jumped dramatically – by 33% in just one month – only to be exceeded a few days later by a massive jump in claims of 3 million more unemployed workers.

Now we are beginning to see layoffs in Tech…

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New Study: Another Impact of COVID-19 – the Crash of Consumer Sentiment

March 26, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Nearly 90% of Consumers Expect a Recession Because of COVID-19

New research conducted this month shows another major impact of COVID-19 Coronavirus – the crash of consumer sentiment. A statistically significant survey of a representative sample of all Americans has reached concerning conclusions about consumer sentiment now and likely to prevail for months after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

See how COVID-19 has impacted consumer sentiment…

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With Recession Certain, What To Do Now

March 25, 2020 by Ted 1 Comment

8 Steps to Recession-Proof Your Business

Most economists have come to the conclusion that a recession is imminent – if not already here – as the drive to stamp out the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has businesses being shut down and employees sent home. Many of these employees are either being officially laid off, or effectively laid off if they are hourly workers. Unemployment claims have already jumped and based on estimates from people way smarter than me – are going to go way higher soon. So now what do we do?

See logical next steps in a recession…

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Coronavirus

Facing COVID-19 Fears: Eight Out of Ten Americans Fear a Second Wave

See how consumers feel about COVID-19 now