At this point in time the at-home personal services industry has been preparing for an altered way of servicing customers including limited contact, PPE ( personal protective equipment), and social distancing procedures. When the “ stay at home “ ban has been lifted in all states and people are no longer self quarantining how will this industry be affected?
The Corona Virus , COVID-19, was first discovered in China in December of 2019 in a cluster of pneumonia cases. This is a novel virus that is continuing to spread around the world. As with any other newly identified virus there is much to learn about the disease process, mode of transmission, incubation period, symptoms, and treatment. The consequences of COVID-19 on the at home personal services market has yet to be determined, but we can speculate what some of these may be.
The safety will probably overtake the trade for a little while
Customers/Clients safety will be one of the main concerns when reopening businesses. Will it be safer to travel to a salon or other business for services or for one individual to come to you? I am leaning more towards the at home service route. I feel it will be much safer for an individual to come to your designated area rather than going to a salon that is frequented by many and you are unsure of their sanitation orders and polices. When going to service an individual new measures in sanitation as well as wearing masks, gloves and possibly other protective gear can help insure the safety of the clients and the safety of the individual providing that service. Possibly making at home services just as safe if not the safest way to receive services.
Many former employees might be pushed to become on-demand freelances
Due to forced closings many businesses have lost a great deal of money and some have had to go bankrupt. With many bankruptcies happening and the unemployment rates skyrocketing due to COVID, the availability of workers to work on-demand should be on the rise. With on demand positions not requiring much time or commitment it can be a perfect fit for someone looking to get back on their feet or pick up some extra hours to make more money in the meantime.
Lower prices in on-demand services should attract new customers willing to save money
When thinking about the consequences of a severe economical crisis on the habits of consumers and services, how their criteria may change is important. As stated above many people are losing their jobs and the average amount of money spent before on services may not be the same due to lack there of. While some people deem haircuts and other personal services essential, willing to pay whatever the cost to get them done, others will be looking for more economical solutions. A perk of on demand styling is the prices are often much lower than those in salons . Many consumers may look to more affordable on demand services in the upcoming months.
There is a lot of uncertainty around COVID-19 and its developments as well as consequences, but we can probably assume this pandemic is not going anywhere, then we will have to live with it one way or another. So I am hopeful that by taking the necessary precautions with reopening businesses, social distancing, using PPE and new guidelines in place we can slowly start to take clients again for at home services. Businesses will need to keep safety a number one priority and do whatever they need to keep the clients as well as the service providers safe and still delivering consumers the services they need.
“we can probably assume this pandemic is not going anywhere, then we will have to live with it one way or another”