A joint survey of 368 businesses by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, Latino Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations found that 60% of business owners listed consumer and employee confidence as a top need. The Spring 2021 Business Survey yielded responses from diverse, mostly small or locally-owned businesses, including a significant percentage of women- and minority-owned businesses. Key findings include:
- 60% rated consumer and employee confidence as a top need, closely followed by a related need for more customers at 55%;
- 70% experienced a decline in revenue in 2020 compared to 2019, with 24% losing more than half their revenue;
- Over half of businesses (52%) have had a reduction in employee benefits or workforce;
- 31% of businesses have already closed or expect to close in the next 12 months if local public health orders are unchanged;
- The most common local spending reductions were on entertainment (71%), meetings and events (69%), restaurants (67%), catering (48%), and hotels (43%); and
- 54% of businesses are utilizing at least some remote work, up from 27% pre–pandemic.
