South Africa: Yoco Turnover among SME’s flat last week despite resuming trading

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:45 pm

The Yoko Small Business Recovery Monitor showed turnover among small and medium sized businesses (SME’s) was flat last week, with the index static at 56 percent when compared with levels before the Covid-19 lockdown.

SME’s have faced severe financial difficulties through the lockdown and many of them have only this month resumed trading after being forced to close through April and May.

Many remain closed due to lockdown restrictions.

Yoco, distributor of point-of-sale (POS) devices to more than 80 000 merchants who operate mainly small businesses, launched the Yoco Small Business Recovery Monitor last month, which as far as is known, is the only live, publicly available, small business transaction data resource.

The index can be used by entrepreneurs to benchmark performance and aid decision-making through what is likely to be one of their toughest trading periods.

The index tracks the recovery of small businesses in South Africa through the lockdown and thereafter.

The week from June 3 to June 10, Limpopo saw the biggest one week increase in turnover, up 13 percent to 77 percent versus pre-Covid levels.

According to the index, the movement to Level 3 of the lockdown had caused the biggest shift in weekly SME turnover to date, with an increase from 47 percent to 56 percent over the course of the week to June 3.

The recovery was strongest in the three days after the move to Level 3, where turnover had ranged from 65-67 percent of the pre-Covid levels, he said.

The move to Level 3 had the biggest impact on the food/drink industry (+11 percent) as further restaurants reopened for pickup and delivery, while retail continued its strong recovery, to 74 percent of the pre-Covid level, for that week. Aligned to the continued lockdown restrictions, the health/beauty industry only increased by 4 percent that week to 40 percent.

(IOL)