New data showed payment methods at small businesses have shifted away from cash toward electronic options like credit, debit and Interac e-Transfer庐.
Despite this shift, sales remain concerningly low for this time of year, according to the latest data on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)鈥檚听.
Saskatchewan鈥檚 small business recovery ticked up slightly with 75 per cent of small businesses fully open (73 per cent last week), 51 per cent fully staffed (43 per cent last week) and 33 per cent making normal sales (32 per cent last week).
Additional data from Chase Merchant Services shows credit and debit card sales for Canadian small businesses are on average 25 per cent lower for March-June 2020 than the same time in 2019.
Monthly credit and debit sales have improved since lows seen earlier this year in April, when more businesses were closed (April was 40 per cent lower, May was 25 per cent lower and June was 15 per cent lower than in 2019).听
鈥淲hile consumer spending through credit and debit seems to be improving, the broader picture shows that there has been a shift in payment methods and sales remain at perilous levels for many businesses,鈥� said Corinne Pohlmann, Senior Vice-President at CFIB.听
Thirty-five per cent of Saskatchewan small business owners said they鈥檝e increased their use of Interac e-transfer as a method of getting and making payments, while 37 per cent have increased their use of credit cards.
Also, one in four have increased their use of debit cards, while 37 per cent have decreased their use of cash since the pandemic started and three per cent have stopped using cash altogether.听
鈥淭hings are slowly getting better, but small businesses depend on Canadians to choose local so the hardware store down the street, the independent pet shop, the mom and pop bakery can survive. This is what the #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign is all about. We urge everyone to be mindful of where they spend in the coming months and to choose a small, independent business every chance they get,鈥� added Jonathan Alward, CFIB鈥檚 director, Prairie Region.听
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