Almost every business and industry felt the adverse effects of COVID-19. When the dreaded coronavirus started its rampage and left casualties left and right in its wake, governments were forced to shut down and economies were left in different degrees of uncertainty.
As some large and multinational companies remained in operation, many businesses indefinitely closed their doors to the public. Unfortunately, a lot of them closed shop permanently a few months after COVID-19 became a pandemic.
While most businesses struggled during the pandemic, one of the few particular industries has thrived despite the challenging times: the home services industry.
Businesses that have managed to stay above water
Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? And almost everyone was desperate at that point. When a man’s back is up against the wall, that’s when his survival instinct kicks in. A few months into the pandemic, people got creative just to bring food to the table. Creativity, in this case, does not mean being artistic or innovative. It simply meant people were forced to step out of their comfort zones to look for other ways to provide for their families’ needs.
While the desperation led others to do new and creative things, certain business establishments are doing well amid the health crisis. On top of essential businesses, such as groceries and pharmacies, there has been a boom in the home improvement sector, specifically those in home services.
Establishments that specialize in all types of home improvements and repairs became a lot more in demand during the lockdown season. Businesses that offer garage door repair services, home automation, or construction weren’t only surviving but thriving in what is considered an off-season among all the other industries.
The home is needed now more than ever
The pandemic made employers and business owners decide to be more flexible with their operations and allowed their people to do remote work in the safety of their homes. The same could be said for educational institutions as schools and universities all around the world have adopted online and distance learning systems to help students cope with the season.
This global health disaster has brought our attention back to our homes. There is now, more than ever, a greater emphasis on the place of residence. Most houses are ill-equipped to handle all members of the household to do remote work. When the pandemic started, folks were working on their dining tables, kitchen counters, and living rooms. They were forced to convert their homes into home offices and schools. However, not all of them were conducive to what this season calls for, therefore people invested their money on home improvements to help accommodate the present need for greater productivity at home.
If you’ve been on social media for the past year and a half, you’ve probably seen several posts on your newsfeed of the different home improvement projects being carried out by those in your network. Perhaps you’ve also been bombarded with different sponsored posts and ads of different home improvement products and services.
The top three reasons for this are health, safety, and comfort. People valued these three things as they spent their days indoors and isolated from everyone else. They chose to stay indoors to keep themselves and their families safe from the deadly virus. Certain projects were carried out in different homes that will help ensure the health and safety of the occupants.
Aside from health and safety improvements, people figured if they will be spending an indefinite amount of time indoors, they might as well make the most of their homes and make their stay as pleasant and as comfortable as possible. This led to numerous cosmetic and beautification projects in homes worldwide.
These three things led folks to the different home upgrades that took place, and continue to take place, during the pandemic. While some prefer to do things themselves, most inexperienced folks sought out the services of professional home service providers. From painting and plumbing to repairs and renovations, the home services industry is enjoying an unprecedented surge in an off-peak season.
Will it continue to thrive once the pandemic is over?
One of the great things about this newfound fascination for home improvements is it helps small businesses get contracts and projects with homeowners. Smaller contractors and firms continue to provide home improvement services even if they’re just small-scale projects. The volume of work that’s pouring out for them more than makes up for the projects’ scale.
In a way, it has become a recession-resistant industry as it has proven to be one of the industries that are surviving COVID-19. This doesn’t mean that they are doing exceedingly well but that they are keeping their heads above water as the demand for their services continues to increase despite the economic downturn.
It may have initially been affected at the onset of the crisis but the industry has shown such resilience that it was able to get back up on its feet faster than other businesses. As everyone spends more time at home, with no near end in sight for this pandemic, we will continue to rely on the home services industry.
With the way things are going now in the corporate world, as remote work arrangements have proven to be quite efficient and productive, it is very likely that we will see this new normal spill over into a post-COVID era. This season has molded us to become equally, if not more, resourceful and productive at home as we are in the workplace.
Technology has allowed us to conveniently do business and make transactions with anyone online without exposing ourselves to the virus. And a huge percentage of workers prefer to keep their present working arrangements even after the pandemic is gone. Reports have shown how workers who are being forced to return to the workplace are now resigning and looking for other jobs that offer greater flexibility.
This is good news for the home services industry as it indicates that their products and services will continue to be needed for the foreseeable future.
