HYANNIS – The Cape Cod Commission and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce have released the results of their second economic impact survey issued in August to local business owners.
The results indicate that Cape businesses are still experiencing ongoing impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It looks there were some severe economic impacts to operations and to workforce. The financial impacts were certainly significant on the Cape,” said Jennifer Clinton, Community Development Planner with the Cape Cod Commission.
The survey received over 400 responses representing businesses from all fifteen Cape Cod towns.
Industries reflected in the survey included accommodations, retail, restaurants, construction, real estate, health care and recreation.
According to the survey, revenues are down by more than half for 52.3 percent of respondents. Revenue is down more than 75 percent for 21.1 percent of respondents.
Of responding businesses, 7.2 percent are completely closed, 54.1 percent are open in a limited way, and 38.8 percent are completely open.
Of the 29 who were closed, 4.7 percent are permanently shut down, another 34.4 percent were unsure if they would be returning, and 60.9 percent said they will eventually reopen.
Clinton said that most businesses that were heavily impacted were those that relied on in-person interaction as part of their business model.
She also said that the Cape saw unprecedented levels of traffic and unemployment due to the pandemic.
“Businesses just don’t have the cash flow and revenue to continue without additional support. Many are relying on the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), personal savings, or new and existing lines of credit in order to survive what’s going on right now. I think there’s a need for additional financial resources,” said Clinton.
According to the survey, resources respondents are using to manage impacts include programs to mitigate layoffs such as PPP at 63.1 percent, personal savings with 44.7 percent, and 31.9 percent using new or refinanced loans.
For the businesses that applied for PPP, 73.5 percent were approved for the full amount and 18.5 percent for a partial amount.
Costs have also increased for businesses as the need to expand online grows and sanitization products are required for in-person business, said the Commission.
However, the survey also showed some optimistic results as more than a third of respondents said that they thought they could operate 7 months or longer with current cash flow and reserves compared to only 20 percent in the first survey issued in May, said Clinton.
Another survey is planned for the holiday season in order to gain a better understanding of the off-season on Cape Cod during the pandemic.
The Commission and the Chamber said that they intend to continue to be advocates for the Cape’s business needs.
A full, visualized report on the survey results can be found here.
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