Strategy in TECH...
A new poll shows that the latest flare-up of COVID-19 – which is generating infections, hospitalizations, and deaths at a rate that exceeds those of the worst of readings from this last Spring – are causing an outbreak of another type…anxiety and dread amongst consumers. This sobering data suggests that an increase in anxiety in consumers could result in stalling our economic recovery.
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).
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
