The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has brought a prolonged period of uncertainty and unrest to our health care system, our economy and our lives. According to the World Economic Outlook Update of the International Monetary Fund, the Philippine economy will contract by as much as 3.6 percent because of the pandemic.
In an economy driven by consumer spending, the lack of economic activity has grave repercussions to businesses across all sectors. In fact, there has been a decrease in consumer spending for most industries, which may be attributed to the stringent physical-distancing measures in place and the expected decrease in household income in the coming months due to layoffs. Most Filipinos have limited their purchases to food, groceries and other home or personal care items. With the community quarantines currently in place, the risk of exposure to the disease until a vaccine becomes commercially available and worsening unemployment, a lot of enterprises across several industries would need to reevaluate their business plans and look for opportunities to recover their losses.