Dear Members,

Thank you for your spectacular engagement in the BC chamber network’s COVID-19 Business Impact Survey that launched last Friday and closed at 5pm on March 18th.

We received an unprecedented 7900+ responses.

You can be proud – and know with confidence – that there is no more definitive business community “pulse check” in the province right now.

We have prepared three online “Insight Stories” with the results:

  1. An overall summary of the data
  2. A breakdown by region
  3. A breakdown by size of business

Here’s the quick analysis:

  • 90% of businesses are “currently being impacted by COVID-19”
  • Of those impacted, 83% are seeing a “drop in revenue, business, or deal flow”
  • 91% anticipate a further “decrease in revenue in the near-term” [sic]
  • 73% of businesses expect their revenues will drop by 50% or more (with nearly a quarter saying revenues will drop by 100%)
  • Half of the respondents say they will be “temporarily shutting down” their offices.
  • 64% of respondents expect to reduce their staff by over half (with a quarter saying they will be reducing their staff by 100%)

These insights have been sent to both the federal and provincial government – and the intelligence you shared with us is helping shape how government reacts to this pandemic crisis in real time.

We want to thank our survey partners who helped promote the survey, including: Small Business BC, the BC Economic Development Association and Community Futures BC. In times of crisis, collaboration is paramount.

The Vancouver Sun has covered our network findings in a feature in today’s print and online edition.

To the power of the crowd,

Your North Vancouver and BC Chamber team