Research reveals seven in 10 Aussies have seen local businesses close due to COVID-19

It has been a brutal year for Aussie retail – and one image perfectly sums up the extent of the devastation facing small businesses.

Surry Hills has long been one of Sydney’s trendiest suburbs, famed for its cafe-lined streets brimming with quirky boutiques.

But its previously thriving main street has been hit hard in 2020, with a cluster of recently vacant stores emerging in just one small section of Crown St alone.

A quick search through real estate listings also reveal more than 500 shop and retail properties are currently for lease in the formerly booming suburb – a number which would have been inconceivable just a few months ago.

It’s an even harsher story over in Melbourne, with the Victorian capital struggling to bounce back after a brutal, months-long coronavirus shutdown this year.

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Sydney’s Surry Hills is now filled with vacant stores in the wake of the pandemic.

Jackie Silverman, who owns Black Velvet Coffee Roasters in the CBD, told news.com.au she was “desperate” to keep her store running, but didn't know how long that would be possible as business had not yet recovered.

“We were expecting an exciting time where customers would come back to the city to work, Melbourne residents to shop the streets and, eventually, tourists to return to boost the business,” she said.

“We are now heading towards mid-December and the streets of the CBD are bare, with no tourists and, despite restrictions being eased, very few workers are back in the city.

“We are desperate to keep our shop running, the business we’ve spent a wonderful nine years building. We want to be able to hold onto staff, which is becoming more precarious as JobKeeper gets closer to being phased out.”

Ms Silverman said there were “For Lease” signs plastered across closed shopfronts all over Melbourne and that more and more would come unless the community rallied behind small businesses.

“There are a lot of businesses that are yet to close that are just on the edge, but so many will never reopen again and there are for lease signs everywhere – I went down Chapel St recently and saw eight for lease signs in about 20 metres,” she said.

“It’s just outrageously bad here still.”

Sadly, Ms Silverman’s experience seems to be a trend that is being repeated across the country, with nationally representative polling conducted by CT Group for the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) revealing around seven in 10 Australians have seen local businesses close due to the pandemic.

Over half identified as a customer of a closed business, and one in four people reported knowing personally a small-business owner who has done it tough this year.

Many respondents reported feeling sadness and concern for struggling business owners and those that have already been forced to close their doors, with the survey providing a clear insight into the lived experience of the devastating recession.

COSBOA CEO Peter Strong said most of us had witnessed first hand just how devastating the pandemic had been for the retail industry.

“We all know small businesses have done it tough this year,” he said.

“Australians have seen the impact with their own eyes as some of their favourite small businesses have closed their doors.”

The research also revealed that almost two in five Aussies planned to spend less this Christmas, with the majority slashing their festive budget by $100-$200.

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Melbourne is also filled with empty storefronts … Picture: NCA NewsWire/Daniel Pockett

However, it also found Australians were more likely to shop local and support a small business this festive season.

“People looking to spend less this Christmas is a sign they’re doing it tough but it’s great news to see people going local first and still trying to support their local small businesses with their Christmas shopping this year,” Mr Strong said.

“This research shows exactly why it is so important to Go Local First. Businesses have been closing and the best way to support them and prevent small businesses from closing, is to walk through the door and spend money with them to help them stay afloat.

“If you Go Local First for your Christmas shopping this year, not only will you get a great gift at a great price but by supporting a local small business, you help the owner and their family have a great Christmas too.”

But it’s not all bad news, with Queensland University of Technology retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer telling news.com.au the coronavirus crisis had actually been a positive for many small businesses, with significantly more of us shopping locally as we worked from home and avoided the city during lockdown.

“Since lockdowns have occurred, many of us aren’t going into the city – we’re working from home and students aren’t there either,” he said.

“Melbourne has been the worst-case scenario with 83 per cent of foot traffic down from February before COVID hit, and in Sydney it is 45 per cent down.

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As is Darwin's Smith Street Mall. Picture: Che Chorley

“Even in CBD areas that haven’t been as affected by COVID like Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, foot traffic is still down by between seven and 24 per cent.”

As a result, Dr Mortimer said while the pandemic had “decimated” many sectors including the wider retail industry, there has been a resurgence of the shopping local trend.