The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating for our nation’s economy, and the impact has been profoundly felt throughout America’s small business community. Many small business retailers on Main Streets in every state and municipality throughout the country have taken the brunt of COVID-19 global health pandemic.
Due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines put in place to slow the spread of the virus, millions of small businesses have had to shut their brick-and-mortar stores to customers and cease operations for months. The effect has been the hemorrhaging of millions in financial losses, leading to the federal government passing trillions in stimulus relief to help small businesses, among many other demographics, during this unprecedented moment in our nation’s history.
Overnight, many small business retailers have turned to bolstering their online presence which has quickly become the lifeline of their business. With physical sales ground to a halt, retailers have had to find opportunities to serve their customers and sell their products online through major retailers like Amazon.
New Browser Extension Harnesses Online Spending to Support Small Businesses
Tribe addresses the dynamic to help empower consumers on Amazon to spend their dollars on the products that speak to their values. It’s free Small Business Browser Extension aims to help consumers easily identify products sold by small businesses. Whether its household products, cosmetics, or food items needed, Tribe offers an easy and safe way for consumers shopping on Amazon to select the products they need while supporting the small business community.
When consumers add Tribe’s Small Business Browser Extension to their browser of choice — available for download on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox — and search for their favorite products on Amazon, the free tool appears as a small box in the corner of their browser window, alerting the shopper to similar products offered by a small business. Shoppers can select the product sold by a small business, which will be dropped right into their shopping cart.
Tribe’s goal is to help the consumer use their purchasing power to support a small business selling the same or similar product on Amazon, giving consumers as many competitive options available at their fingertips while at the same time, supporting this critical business demographic that has been decimated during by the COVID-10 pandemic.
How Small Business Owners Can Take Advantage of Tribe’s Newly Launched Small Business Browser Extension
Tribe is always growing to offer American consumers options to support companies and products they care about. We are on the look-out for new small businesses with less than 500 employees who sell on Amazon — and invite you to join us.
Coronavirus Impact on Small Businesses’ Sales
A survey by the Small Business Roundtable and Facebook found that the economic impact of the coronavirus on the small business community has been severe, indicating they are closing their doors, face dire economic circumstances and expect an uncertain future.
In fact, retail shops across the country were forced to close due to shelter-in-place, social distancing measures and limited re-opening requirements, leaving 24% of small businesses on the brink of closing for good.
Meanwhile, while there has been a 49% increase in online shopping.
What’s Next?
As states begin to open up, small businesses now face limited reopening opportunities and additional restrictions on doing business. While the sector’s in-person sales are beginning to restart, many small employers are still unable to welcome back customers into their physical shops and many are continuing to attempt to stay afloat through increased product sales online. More importantly, without a vaccine or treatment on the near horizon, customers continue to fear returning back into public life.
Supporting our nation’s small businesses is key to our recovery. Our small business community is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy and supporting them during this critical time will help us recover quicker and stronger. Through Tribe’s Small Business Browser Extension we are providing consumers an opportunity with a click of their mouse to harness the collective spending power to support America’s small business community.
It’s not only the right thing to do, but when we shop local, we all win.
