Ipsos Digital Tools SMB Online Survey

Usage of Digital Tools Proved Crucial for Business Survival and Recovery during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Washington, DC, October 29, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic hit small and medium-sized businesses hard around the world, with businesses responding with increased reliance on digital tools to maintain their resilience through the crisis and move toward recovery, according to a Facebook, Inc. commissioned study. In particular, the study showed that businesses increasingly turned to digital tools to reach out to their customers amid restricted in-person interactions, to conduct sales increasingly via online channels, and to maintain relationships with people in their local communities and beyond.

The survey examines how small and medium-sized businesses have changed their utilization of digital technologies and social media to support continued engagement with customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This online survey was conducted for Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) by Ipsos, interviewing 5,051 small business owners and senior managers in 17 countries in July and August of 2020 and is analyzed in a Deloitte report, Digital Tools in Crisis and Recovery.

Across the 17 countries surveyed in July and August 2020, select findings from select markets include:

  • Many businesses reported that they ceased operating at some point since the outbreak of COVID-19 (62% in Brazil; 69% in France; 60% in Indonesia; 84% in Sri Lanka; 60% in the US);
  • Majorities of businesses reported that they started using or increased their usage of social media platforms since the outbreak of COVID-19 (80% in Brazil; 45% in France; 59% in Indonesia; 42% in Sri Lanka; 51% in the US);
  • Most businesses reported increased reliance on online payment methods, starting or increasing their usage of online payment platforms since the pandemic outbreak (70% in Brazil; 36% in France; 55% in Indonesia; 20% in Sri Lanka; 49% in the US);
  • Many businesses reported that they chose to increasingly use social media or online messaging platforms because they needed to increase customer reach (66% in Brazil; 41% in France; 63% in Indonesia; 66% in Sri Lanka; 49% in the US);
  • For most businesses messaging apps turned into a critical communication tool during the pandemic: they started using or increased their usage of direct messaging through online messaging platforms (80% in Brazil; 43% in France; 66% in Indonesia; 49% in Sri Lanka; 47% in the US);
  • Strong majorities of businesses expected their usage of digital tools to increase after the COVID-19 outbreak is over (82% in Brazil; 63% in France; 76% in Indonesia; 59% in Sri Lanka; 63% in the US);
  • For substantial shares of businesses however, managing different tools was a challenge they faced in increasing the use of online tools further (48% in Brazil; 28% in France; 28% in Indonesia; 27% in Sri Lanka; 31% in the US).

Methodology

The online study was conducted from July 24 through August 30, 2020, using online business-to-business panels, among 5,051 founders, owners and senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses, defined as those that employ no more than 250 employees. Targets were set to balance for industries within countries.

The study was conducted in 17 countries within these regions:

  • Europe/North America/MENA: Canada (n=250), France (n=250), Germany (n=250), Israel (n=250), Italy (n=250), Spain (n=250), United Kingdom (n=281), United States (n=1,000)
  • Asia-Pacific: Australia (n=250), India (n=270), Indonesia (n=250), Japan (n=250), New Zealand (n=250), Philippines (n=250), Sri Lanka (n=250)
  • Latin America: Brazil (n=250), Mexico (n=250)

The study was conducted in 12 languages:

  • Bahasa
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Hebrew
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese
  • Sinhala
  • Spanish
  • Tagalog
  • Tamil

About Facebook

Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook's apps and technologies to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world’s third largest Insights and Analytics company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions. ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com.

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