Quocirca COVID-19 Third Business Impact Survey Findings

June 2, 2020
Article, Channel, Digital Transformation, Managed Print Services, Research, Trends

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on the office print industry, Quocirca conducted its third snapshot COVID-19 Business Impact Survey between 1st May and 15th May 2020. The research looked at the perceptions of a range of office print supplier organisations to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses. The latest survey reveals that while the office print industry remains significantly impacted, many industry executives believe that the pandemic will be a catalyst for change through innovation of products and services.

Study details

Quocirca received 286 completed responses, 15% from OEMs, 73% from channel organisations and 6% from ISVs. The rest of the respondents fell into the ‘Other’ category.

Overall, 86% of respondents were from organisations with fewer than 1,000 employees. 80% of respondents were from European organisations, 7% from the US and 13% from other regions.

It should be noted that this survey attracted a far higher proportion of channel partners (73% v 54%) than the second survey. 50% of these channel partners employ up to 10 people.

Key findings

• Expectations of significant market disruption are diminishing – but remain high. 59% of print industry executives state that the crisis has had a critical or significant impact on their business, a drop from 70% in the second survey. OEMs report more of a critical impact than channel partners. Fewer respondents believe the crisis holds opportunities for them (11%, down from 15% and 21%). 70% agree that COVID-19 will cause significant ongoing market disruption – again, a lower percentage than in the previous surveys (84% and 85%).
• Revenues are expected to be hit hard. Nearly 60% expect that their revenues for the year will decrease by more than 10%, with nearly 40% expecting this to be a greater than 20% hit. Only 5% expect revenues to increase.
• Office print volumes continue to fall – but there are small signs of recovery. Overall, 87% say print volumes amongst their customers are declining, compared to 95% in the previous study. Unsurprisingly, the sectors leading the response to the crisis (healthcare and government) continue to show an increase in demand for printing. Demand is slowly but surely increasing in financial services, retail and media, perhaps due to some employees returning to the office as lockdown measures begin to ease.
• There is still recognition of a need for change. 56% of respondents state that the pandemic will drive a need to change their operating model (down from 66%). 50% are planning to introduce new products (down from 58% in the second survey).
• Physical events are being replaced by virtual equivalents. In the first and second surveys, 76% and 69% of respondents stated that events had been postponed or cancelled, with 46% and 41% stating that major projects or investments had been postponed or cancelled. In this third survey, these numbers are down to 42% and 26%.
• Expectations for returning to ‘business as normal’ remain low. 8% of respondents expect to be able to get back to business as normal in less than one month (up from 6%). However, 57% expect it to take more than six months (against 58%), with 11% not expecting there to be a ‘business as usual’. OEMs are least optimistic, with 73% expecting it to take longer than six months, with 55% of channel partners and 36% of ISVs feeling the same.

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