The impact of coronavirus is being felt around India’s startup industry and small businesses as 71 percent have reported a drop in demand over the last weeks. As a result of this, 63 percent firms are planning to cut jobs, according to results of a survey of more than 8,500 such companies conducted by LocalCircles.
About 48 percent of the companies surveyed under the report revealed that they expect to witness supply chain disruptions and an rise in costs. While 41 percent expect to witness a double trouble of both supply chain issues with cost increase and slowing demand, 11 percent of the respondents said they don’t expect an impact.
Up to 52 percent of the companies surveyed said that they are planning to bring down marketing/advertising, while 41 percent will slash real estate costs and 48 percent will cut infrastructure and technology costs. About 48 percent of the companies polled said they will take at least two of these measures, while 37 percent revealed that there won’t be an impact on their business.
The survey results are followed by the increasing pain among segments of India’s consumption economy, with travel, hospitality and restaurants among the biggest hit. In digital companies, cab aggregator firms like Ola and Uber have already seen business come down 40-50 percent and even online food delivery has taken a hit of 20 percent.
