China was the first country affected by COVID-19, and was also the first country to recognize the need to stimulate their economy quickly to reverse a minus 6.8% in their gross domestic product (GDP) during the first quarter. They were successful, resulting in a 3.2% growth in GDP for the second quarter of 2020 when most economies registered a negative growth rate. Our government can learn something from them. Below are the possibilities of what can be adapted which can benefit consumers, establishments, and the government.
The proposal below is an area-specific sales promotion that can be initiated by each local government aimed to prevent more businesses from closing, drive SMEs to accelerate their turnaround, and preserve more jobs. The government can be more imaginative in their governance — let there be competition among local governments for the least percentage of business closures as well as fastest business recovery.
Recovery for Restaurants, Salons, and Retail
Dine-in restaurants, spas and salons, as well as retail businesses are all suffering heavily from the lockdown. It is not their fault, but they will continue to suffer unless sales promotions are launched to help stop their revenue bleed.
The offer? A voucher for P150 that can be given to each resident for twelve weeks. The total budget would be set at P1,800 per person (P150 x 12 weeks), but distributed over twelve weeks. These vouchers will carry a seven-day expiry and cannot be carried over or combined. Residents can then use the P150 voucher to buy anything that is officially receipted within the city so long as each of their bills is a minimum of P450. The vouchers can be used on top of any other promotions establishments are offering, and must conform to the maximum number of customers allowed within an establishment imposed by the government at any given time.
