Our Perspective: Limitations On Delivery Could Spell The End For Many Small Businesses

By Americans for a Modern Economy

April 30, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has obviously sent shockwaves through the global economy and our economic situation here at home is precarious at best. Some sectors of the economy may never fully recover and face a future that if anything, will be decidedly different from the norm. As destructive as the pandemic has been, in many ways it has opened the door for innovation and significantly sped up fundamental changes to the economy that were already underway.

Service industry companies like restaurants and retailers were already seeing off-premise sales become an increasingly larger part of the their businesses. Whether ordering online, to-go sales, or home delivery, the mainstreaming of a delivery-based economy was already happening. With the pandemic and its current and likely future restrictions on social gathering and social acceptance of those customs lingering long after the crisis subsides, the delivery economy is no longer a strategy or competitive advantage for some – it is vital to the survival of most of these enterprises.

Over the last two months, elected officials and policy makers of every political stripe and level of government have realized that these are “essential businesses” and have worked hard to help keep their doors open. The federal government has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy to save these businesses – and their employees – from going under.

At the same time, governors have thoughtfully loosened restrictions on business models to let them compete. One such change critically important to restaurants and other retailers is the delivery of alcohol. Governors in Texas, California, New York and other states have temporarily helped these businesses by allowing them to deliver to their customers almost everything on their menus – including alcohol. It is an acknowledgement by them that full service delivery is critical to their existence.

But in the new post-COVID-19 world order, it will be years before the businesses that actually do survive get back to where they once were – if ever. Full service delivery will be the key to the survival of millions of small businesses. While relief packages and recovery funds are critically important today, the best way to help these small businesses going forward is enable them to fully compete in the post-COVID-19 delivery-centric environment. For countless employers, it will literally be the determining factor in whether they can survive.