The New Normal
Is COVID-19 a bridge between two different worlds and realities?
Are we too concerned about the current situation that we are unable to see the future clearly?
What is the NEW NORMAL?
The NEW NORMAL simply draws the idea that COVID-19 is Not the beginning of the end, but it is the beginning of a new world with different core attributes than before.
Post to every global crisis, many industries reach the bottom of the decline stage, yet many other industries reach their peak in the growth/maturity stage.
The aviation industry is on the top of the industrial list encountering a significant negative impact due to the current pandemic. Loss of ticket sales on one hand, however, losses due to production deficiency is the critical point in this context. “Airbus” suspended the A320 production line in Tianjin China and reduced the production rate by 30% due to COVID-19. On the other hand, “Boeing” considered approaching a number of their employees suggesting early retirement and mutual contract termination.
In 2015, “Wuhan” in China was announced “China’s car city”. Hyundai Motors production line in Wuhan covers almost 50% of their annual production. Given how the pandemic situation initiated in Wuhan, it is easy to comprehend the significant effect on the automotive industry.
The tourism industry holds a total of 10% of the world’s GDP. The industry encountered a huge gap between expectation and perception in 2020. A total of 50 million jobs across the world are under threat due to the global pandemic. However, investors in this industry are well aware that tourism will always survive again after a downgrade, therefore, it is safe to say that the survival in this industry is a definite scenario for those who lasts longer.
What about SMEs? The surprising result is that SMEs are less affected by the global pandemic, in fact, many countries and organisations around the world insisted on providing an outstanding support to the SMEs. For instance, the European commission announced a budget of €1 billion to support SMEs in Europe. The United States Senate announced $60 billion to support SMEs.
According to McKinsey & Company, the fundamental cause of this support is that SMEs are highly dependent on local resources, especially when the global logistic network is under disruption. Hence aiding SMEs to survive is essential to protect the local economy from a potential saturation. This is one of the main core attributes of the new normal.
As per The Economist, virtual and augmented realities could add $1.5trn to the world economy by 2030. Innovation, technology, and internet are the main sectors benefiting from this pandemic. For example, TikTok application in April 2020 recorded a 98.04% increase in the download rate in contrast with March 2019. Social media utilization increased by 73% in 2020. Gaming platforms recorded 256% increase in game downloads. Additionally, online education platforms recorded an increase in traffic up to 1000%. Finally, online health platforms recorded an increase in traffic up to 177%.
To conclude, if you are wondering where to set your career or employ your investments according to the “NEW NORMAL”, the answer is simple: Innovation, programming, and technology. Markets are extremely competitive, hence focus your efforts on innovation to put yourself or your business under the “Monopolist” factor.