Company News

DALLAS, July 10, 2020 – Fresh data from a study of small businesses shows they are concerned about another outbreak of COVID-19. Fifty-two percent of small business owners in the survey said they were “very concerned” about a second wave of the virus, up from 24 percent just six weeks before.

Similarly, business outlook had been improving steadily but now about a quarter of small businesses expect demand for their products and services to decline. This was an increase from 14 percent a week prior and represents the largest such week-to-week increase since the pandemic started.

The study of small businesses by Thryv Inc. and America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), a resource partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA), was conducted June 26 – July 6, and was a follow-up to Waves 1 through 14 of the study conducted the prior weeks.

Attitudes are also shifting about the shut-down. Only 38 percent of businesses now say the shut down lasted too long, down from 46 percent the week prior.

“For months we saw steady improvements in business outlook,” said Gordon Henry, Chief Strategy Officer at Thryv®. “But with cases of infection on the rise, we are seeing small businesses again concerned about economic recovery.

“Small businesses are under tremendous pressure and they need all of us to reach out and support them by using their products and services.”

Some 67 percent of businesses said all employees are still working or that all will return to work, a small reduction from prior weeks.

This pessimism about employment is likely driven by pessimism about the business’s own recovery. The number that think they will recover 75 percent to 100 percent has dropped while the number thinking they will recover 50 percent or less has increased

“It’s disappointing to see these numbers reverse course. It seems that it is becoming more and more clear that Congress will need to act again to provide assistance to America’s small businesses,” said Charles “Tee” Rowe, president and CEO at America’s SBDC. “If we continue in the current direction, the economic recovery will likely be restrained.”

These are just a few data points from the joint longitudinal study by Thryv, Inc. — a SaaS and marketing solutions company with over 350,000 small business clients nationwide — and America’s SBDC conducted among small businesses across the country this past weekend. The research supports the integral role small businesses play and the value they bring to the economy. Both America’s SBDC and Thryv Inc. have a long history of working with small businesses.

Waves 15 and 16 of the study were conducted on June 26 through July 6, with a margin of error +/- 6.9 and 8.8 percent, respectively. The research conducted from a sample of small businesses. Thryv and America’s SBDC will continue to gather data from SMBs over the next few weeks.

For full study results, email [email protected].

About Thryv, Inc.
Thryv, Inc. builds and owns the easy-to-use Thryv® end-to-end customer experience software that helps 55,000+ small business owners with the daily demands of running a business; and allows them to take control and be more successful. Thryv’s platform provides modernized business functions, allowing small businesses to reach more customers, stay organized, get paid faster and generate reviews. These include building a digital customer list, communicating with customers via email and text, updating business listings across the internet, accepting appointments, sending notifications and reminders, managing ratings and reviews, generating estimates and invoices, processing payments, and issuing invoices and coupons.

Thryv also provides consumer services through our market-leading search, display and social products—and connects local businesses via The Real Yellow Pages® from the over 25 million monthly visitors of DexKnows.com®, Superpages.com® and yellowpages.com search portals; and local print directories. For more information about the company, visit thryv.com.

Thryv delivers business services to more than 350,000 small businesses across America that enable them to compete and win in today’s economy.

About America’s SBDC Program: America’s SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. Learn more at www.americassbdc.org.

Media Contact:
Paige Blankenship
Thryv, Inc.
972.453.3012
[email protected]

April Youngblut
America’s SBDC
703.764.9850
[email protected]