While the economy has taken a major hit and most industries have raised their concerns about the same, there are many ancillary sectors that are neglected for the lack of impact they would have in the economic equation.
Sameer, Parimita Nagori
In a country of over a one billion people it would be incorrect to say that any of us have been left unaffected by the pandemic. While the economy has taken a major hit and most industries have raised their concerns about the same, there are many ancillary sectors that are neglected for the lack of impact they would have in the economic equation. Influencers are one such sector who have been on the back burner all through the pandemic.
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It is imperative that businesses wouldn’t invest in social media marketing activities when they aren’t even completely functional in the first place. Most segments have seen paradigm shifts in consumer buying behaviours. While the consumer has shifted largely to online buying/ordering most businesses have still seen a heavy impact on their top line as consumers have switched to cautions spending as opposed to pre-pandemic times.
We at Mumbai Food Trial have our major chunk of work coming from the hospitality industry which has been one of the worst affected throughout the pandemic. They have had little support in these tough times and have been hustling to survive. While we have been supportive to our friends, acquaintances and even small businesses who have connected to us for putting a word out for them, business for everyone in the hospitality industry has suffered across the board. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has been vocal about the challenges the industry is facing but has had little swing with the government’s policy decisions.
We spoke to a young yet seasoned restaurateur, Mr. Khaliq Moti from The Third House, Mumbai “The lockdown has been particularly hard on us; we continue to pay exorbitant rents with little respite from the landlords. Having spent so much on the space, moving out is not an option for us. The dining and takeaway restrictions reduced our revenue by over 50%, the fear amongst clients on ordering from outside affected another 20-25% of our sales. Moreover, we ensure that we’re following all the government mandated SOP’s, which further add to our expenses. Combine that with the rising cost of production, raw material and the heavy overheads of staff salaries all adds up to a huge red line for us.”
When an industry suffers a 70-75% hit on its bottom line, all the ancillary industries connected to them would feel the cascading effect and so have Influencers working in all genres. Speaking of travel industry, it has come to a stand still at large, not just at the global level but also at the national level. While the five star hotel brands have taken it on the chin, a large set of medium and low budget rental spaces have gone out of business adding to the unemployment numbers of the country.
Fashion & lifestyle brands have been bleeding too. The restriction/ban on private social events, private social gatherings, other social events etc. has adversely affected the fashion and lifestyle brands. While these restrictions have been the need of the day, it does not blur the fact that businesses have suffered major blows.
We would take the privilege to speak on behalf of Influencers from the food, fashion, lifestyle & travel industry that our business has also been as affected but we are determined to come out strong. We have been using our social media pages to spread positivity, help people in need, give shout outs to local businesses etc. We at Mumbai Food Trail will continue to do so till things normalise for everyone. Readers, restaurateurs, business owners, SME’s can feel free to reach us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mumbaifoodtrail/ and we will be happy to help in the best of our capacity. To better days ahead!
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