Essential suppliers such as supermarket chains, agricultural and hardware companies and medical and health services have experienced a boom in their product sales which has also been subject to delivery shortages brought on by overwhelming demand and trade restrictions.

Other retailers were forced to close their doors, either by public health order or because of the difficulties involved in continuing to trade under the level of restrictions in place. Those who had to cease trading included beauty salons, pubs and clubs and gymnasiums. They were unable to operate normally and, in many cases, staff lost their jobs as a result.

Some shops chose to trade differently, either operating behind the scenes, going online or offering takeaway or delivery options.

These included cafes, department stores, clothing outlets, jewellery and book shops.

The key takeaway here is innovation and many businesses are doing that well - through collaboration, ingenuity and in targeting those areas where assistance and even guidance is most needed.

Restrictions are still in place in terms of sanitisation and social distancing practices but most shops have been reopened with shoppers overcoming some of the awkwardness that has come with these measures.

However, uncertainty remains, and recovery through this period and into the future will not only take time, but the retail sector will look different in the future.

Our recent COVID-19 Business Impact Survey showed that more than 68% of the businesses in the region indicated concerns about their recovery, particularly access to workers, finance and financial resources, access to markets, changing market demands and reduced consumer demands.

There are concerns about timelines, increased costs of setting up to trade again, seasonal downturns after COVID-19, reduced consumer spending, delayed projects and issues with sustainability.

With the retail sector employing 13.3 per cent of workers and providing secondary services to the tourism industry, for every dollar spend in tourism, 8c is spent in retail. This equates to 8.4% of total spending in the Orana region. With travel restrictions in place until recently, regional areas have been hit hard by the crisis and the reality is that some businesses might not make it to the other side.

But the community can help, by supporting local businesses, purchasing their products and utilising their services.

As well as shopping locally, it would be great for residents to visit other towns and spend a few days, and more importantly a few dollars. Jump on board the #buyfromthebush campaign, take some time to explore, reopen our region and bring back our buoyancy.

RDA Orana is a not for profit business that receives federal funding to support regional and economic development initiatives across the Orana region. Our mission is to support sustainable economic growth through the provision of regional intelligence that creates connections and collaborations, supports investment decisions by business and government, and that encourages the development of our workforce. To find out more visit rdaorana.org.au

Regional Recovery with RDA Orana is a series of columns produced by RDA Orana looking at the impacts of COVID-19 and the road to recovery for our community.

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