COVID Insights From DBM's March Data

We’ve fast-tracked analysis of the DBM Atlas sentiment data for March, and it’s clear that Australians are concerned. Interestingly, though, 30% of businesses are yet to experience negative impacts. These organisations, who continue to deliver essential goods and services in a time of need, are likely to form the “bedrock” of economic recovery. They’ll be relying on their suppliers – and employees – to pivot quickly with them. Those who can’t are likely to be replaced by those who can.

Consensus among consumers and business owners is that economic recovery is likely to take more than 6 months. We are in uncharted waters, however, so it’s also possible that things could turn around sooner - and that economic uplift could come at an unprecedented pace. If the recovery comes quickly, business owners who don’t have an agile “hibernation” strategy could be caught napping.

We were surprised to find that awareness of relief measures was relatively low. Clearly, government agencies, banks, telcos and other providers need to find creative ways to get “cut-through” – especially in the current media landscape.

We’re diving deeper into the data we have collected over recent weeks, and will be providing additional insights as soon as possible. Message me if you have any ideas on areas we should be exploring further.