TWENTY-SIX industry sectors have shown positive signs of revenue recovery in the first half of this year, according to data presented by the Skynamo Industry Thermometer.
The Skynamo Industry Thermometer is a free-to-access resource that benchmarks industry sales activity and sector health. The data is aggregated from field sales operations in South Africa dating back to January last year. In total, 26 sectors are tracked.
Skynamo chief executive Sam Clarke said in a statement there had been a knee-jerk reaction that sent everyone indoors when Covid-19 hit last year, and many businesses experienced a decline in the value of orders received, although there was an increase in order placement frequency.
As the lockdown progressed and people started adjusting to “a new normal”, positive purchasing patterns emerged. As the lockdowns eased, order values started to improve.
“The recovery we’re witnessing is positive, and our data tells us good news about the healthy growth in buying behaviour,” he said.
Twenty of 26 sectors monitored showed an increase in average order value from January to March compared with the same period last year, before the pandemic struck.
Although first-quarter spend decreased 12 percent from that of the same time last year, “this is a remarkably low figure considering that January and February 2020 were in a world before Covid-19 existed,” Clarke said.
Confidence in placing orders throughout the supply chain looked to be on a growth path, despite the tough economy, Clarke said. Skynamo said it saw an increase both in the number of orders placed and in the value size of these orders in the first half of this year compared to the first half of last year.
Skynamo is a South African field sales tech company that last year secured a $30 million (about R428m) investment from US software investment firm Five Elms Capital to accelerate adoption of its field sales app in the US, UK and South Africa.
BUSINESS REPORT