Economics Project

COVID-19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact

on Small and Micro Entrepreneur

Shanti Business School

Name AAKASH BHAKTA

Roll No. A-1
Sec. A
COVID – 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs
__________________________________________________________________

Ethical Code of Conduct

I (Aakash Bhakta) assure that all ethical standards have been followed during this
project and due permission was taken at each step. Permission was taken before the
conduct of the interview, before clicking the photograph and before recording the
interview. If the respondent did not give permission to record the interview recording
was not and the entire interview was conducted on pen paper mode. The respondent
was uprightly informed about the project.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Table of Contents
___________________________________________________

Sl. Chapters Page No.

1 Self-Introduction 1
2 Introduction of the Micro Entrepreneur 2
3 Lockdown and Impact on the Supply Chain 3
4 Lockdown and Impact on Finances 5
5 Lockdown and Impact on Consumer Behavior and 7
Marketing
6 Conclusion 9
Annexure 10

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COVID – 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs
__________________________________________________________________

CE 4 & CE 5

4
COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 1
Self-Introduction
My name is Aakash Bhakta, I completed my Class 10 board exams from Julien Day
School, Ganganagar, which is affiliated to ICSE, after which I completed my Class 12
board exams from Sudhir Memorial Institute, Madhyamgram, which is affiliated to
CBSE, the subjects I studied in 12th are English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry,
Biology and Physical Education and the medium of instruction was in English. I
graduated from University of Calcutta with specialization in Zoology and the medium
of instruction was in English. My father’s name is Anjan Bhakta and he works in
Geological Survey of India. We did not get affected by COVID led lockdown because
my father works for the Central Government, due to which he received his monthly
salary on time, even though offices were closed.
The area where I conducted the interview of the micro-entrepreneur is New
Barrackpore, which is a sub-urban area near Kolkata, West Bengal. The local language
is Bangla and since, I am a Bengali, I am very fluent in speaking Bangla, reading and
writing it.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 2
Introduction of the Micro Entrepreneur
The name of the person on whom I am writing this case study is Subhasish Ganguly
and he is the owner of a small vegetable vendor, who goes around New Barrackpore
selling vegetables. He has been running this business since the lockdown happened,
before that he was a ‘Rickshaw-wala’ in New Barrackpore. He took up this job during
the COVID led lockdown because of financial issues. People were not coming out of
their houses during that time due to which his Rickshaw business was down. Therefore,
he was compelled to sell vegetables from door to door during the pandemic.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 3
Lockdown and Impact on Supply Chain
Subhasish did face issues in the supply of raw materials. Trucks used to come from
Kolkata filled with vegetables, which were sold to these vegetable sellers, so that they
could subsequently sell them to us. Since, Subhasish was not in this business before the
pandemic, he had no idea whether the situation was same or different before the COVID
led lockdown. However, the challenge he faced was that since, he was new to this
business and the people who were already in this business before did not know him
properly, they refused to sell their vegetables to him initially and the little items he was
able to procure were either with very less shelf life or almost rotten. However, this did
change after the first COVID led nationwide lockdown. After he became familiar with
the new environment and the people surrounding him, he was able to procure better
items and good quality vegetables. After the economy reopened in June – July 2020 i.e.
after the first COVID led lockdown the input prices of these vegetables changed. The
prices decreased because some sellers had gone back to their previous business because
people were then being able to come out of their houses and naturally the demand for
high priced vegetables decreased, since people had the choice to buy from other
vegetable vendors at a much lower price if they so desired. But, unlike others, Subhasish
did not shift back to his old business, he stayed in this business because the buyers with
whom he interacted for these few months had become close to him, so they trusted
Subhasish that he will bring them the best quality vegetables at a reasonable price,
which he did. Therefore, he was able to maintain his sales continuously. Sometimes,
despite the demand, he was not not able to make enough sales as the raw materials did
not reach him on time. Also, he did pass the increase cost to the customer in the form
of increased end prices, whose proportion was more than 50%. The reason behind such
a strategy was to procure profit as much as possible since another lockdown was
inevitable in the future, as the COVID cases number were not falling. In the festive
season, as the cases started rising gradually, even though there was no lockdown, some
people started staying inside their homes, which increased his vegetable sales.
After the deadly second wave and the economy was partially locked down, but this time
the supply got disrupted badly because people in the supply chain of vegetables died,
trucks that brought the vegetables were stopped and naturally the prices of vegetables
increased drastically. This time, however, Subhasish put his son in the business as well
so that the total family income remained the same since his income was reduced
dramatically, as he was unable to procure vegetables like before because of the
increased price and disrupted supply. He was not at all in a better position which not
only reduced his income but also sacrificed his son’s education.
After the second wave of COVID led pandemic, the supply of vegetables slowly started
to get better, so much so, that compared to last year’s festive season, the situation was
much better this year. Last year, people were more afraid which is why many people in
the supply chain stopped working due to which the people who were still working had

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

to work harder that before. As a result, the prices of the vegetables increased and
became hard to procure by new comers like Subhasish. His strategy back then was to
gain from his sales as much as possible which he did by passing on the increase in cost
price to the end customer in the form of increased prices by more than 50%. The reason
behind this was to get back to his previous conditions so that his son could renew his
education. Now after the re-opening of the deadly second wave, and also massive
vaccination drive, the situation is better from last year. The procurement of raw
materials is now easier, the prices have also fallen by 10-20%. However, according to
Subhasish, we are far from returning back to pre-covid situations, which is why he is
afraid as he might lose customers in the future, if this continues for a longer period of
time.
For the future, Subhasish expects situation to get better since vaccinations are occurring
at a very high rate. Also, people have become more conscious now, they are wearing
masks and using sanitizers. Hence, Subhasish is really optimistic about the future.
During the 2 lockdowns, neither did he not receive any help from the government nor
was he aware of any government scheme that could have helped him. He did, however,
expect some form of help from the government. In the future, Subhasish expects the
Government to not held elections during such a viral pandemic and act accordingly.

Brief analysis of the chapter

In this chapter, we see how small businesses got affected during the COVID led
pandemic. Some had to shift their business, just like Subhasish. Not only that, but also,
how hard it is for new comers to stand in the business. The disruption of the supply
chain can affect the whole overall business. However, nothing is impossible, every
situation can be solved with hard work, dedication, determination and sacrifice.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 4

Lockdown and Impact on Finances

The finances of Subhasish before the Covid led lockdown was pretty nominal, he had
an income of about Rs. 400 per day. He did have a regular bank account where he would
save Rs. 2000 per month. He did not take any loans from the bank as he would not get
one. He simply used his money and sometimes took the help of his relatives either to
build a house or for his daughter’s wedding. He never approached any bank for loan as
he felt he would not be able to repay the interest. He was not aware of the Mudra loan.
When the first lockdown was announced i.e. in the month of March 2020, Subhasish
had only 5000 rupees in hand which he felt was sufficient enough to sustain him during
the lockdown as the lockdown was supposed to lift off within a few weeks. However,
when the lockdown period started to increase, he did take the help of his relatives for
monetary support. He took loans from them which had repaid back by the end of 2020
as it was interest free. It was sufficient enough for him to sustain throughout the Covid
led lockdown since he had already shifted his business to selling vegetables by then
which gave him a source of income, due to which when the economy reopened he had
his working capital. However, it was not sufficient as he had to repay the money which
he had borrowed from his relatives. So, for the few days before the ending of 2020, he
and his son had to work extremely hard, selling vegetables from door to door in order
to get back that money. There was a change in the saving behavior after the economy
reopened, he would save about 5000 rupees every month instead of 2000 rupees which
he had been doing initially. During the last year festive season his earnings increased,
before that he would earn about 500 per day during the festive season but since
vegetable selling business incurs more income, last year he earned about 5000 rupees
per day during the festive season, which is 10 times his previous income.
There was again a second lockdown during the month of April 2021, due to the deadly
second wave. But, Subhasish was not at all better prepared for this. He had only 10,000
rupees in hand, which was not sufficient for him if the lockdown period continued on
like last year. Therefore, he put his son in the business with him so that they did not
have to go through the hassle of borrowing money from his relatives like last year,
which is why after the economy partially opened up he did this time have sufficient
working capital. However, due to his new financial behavior he did have more money
in the bank which he did not want to waste as he did not know what the future holds for
him and his business. This time, the first time there was no full lockdown and there was
only partial lockdown. According to Subhasish, this was better than the previous full
lockdown. The partial lockdown decreases his income when compared to the full
lockdown, as during the full lockdown people stayed indoors and had to rely fully on
his door to door services for vegetables, but in partial lockdown people had the liberty
to go to the markets and buy vegetables from there which reduces his income.
In West Bengal, there was no partial lockdown during the festive season this year.
Hence, his finances were more or less same (a difference of only a few 1000 rupees
compared to last year). But, his finances improved to the pre-Covid level, even during
the festive seasons. Subhasish is optimistic about the future, he feels that things will not

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

only become normal but also improve because of the massive vaccination drive. He is
planning on buying some insurance policies next year if situations improve and his
income rises a little bit more as from next year he is planning to open a fish market
because in West Bengal that business fetches a lot of money irrespective of lockdown.
Again, in term of finances he did not receive any help from the government. During the
first lockdown, there was no help from the government. No one from the government
approached him during the 2 lockdowns. He was not aware of any government schemes
like easy loans at lower rate of interest, or longer payoff time. He did, however, expect
some form of help from the Government in terms of monetary support.

Brief analysis of the chapter

In this chapter, we see how small businesses got affected during the COVID led
pandemic. Some had to shift their financial behavior, just like Subhasish. Not only that,
but also, how opportunities may come out of luck to improve your financial conditions.
If one takes this opportunity they might just become a better businessman and plan for
the future by learning the patterns of the buying behavior of customers.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 5

Lockdown and Impact on Consumer Behavior and Marketing

With the onset of the first lockdown, the behavior of the customers changed as they
were willing to buy in bulk rather than in less quantity. The changes were positive
because buying in bulk incurred more income and if the vegetables were not stored
properly, they would rot and as result people once again had to buy vegetables. All
these are the reasons why Subhasish’s sales increased. Before Covid, people would not
buy in bulk and the quantity in which people bought vegetables was less. But now, due
to the bulk buying behavior of customers, the sales and income increased, because of
which the marketing strategy used by him remained the same as before and he didn’t
have to give extra effort. Since, people mostly stayed indoors during the lockdown, they
were not able to communicate a lot with neither their friends nor relatives. So, as the
festive season approached most people decided to do a get together in their homes only,
where they used these vegetables to cook homemade food, due to which the sales were
up during this time. When compared with the sales of the previous year’s festive season
also, the sales were up. However, the reason behind this is unknown by Subhasish as
he was not in this business pre-Covid. There are no add-ons in this business because it
is a business of selling vegetables. Slowly as the economy opened up, the response of
the customers changed as they were not bulk-buying anymore because they could go to
the market whenever they were out of vegetables if they so desired. As a result,
Subhasish’s sales and income, both reduced. To cope with these changes, he visited the
houses where elderly people lived more and more, as they were unable to go to the
market because of their old age.
After the second lockdown and the deadly second wave, situations became the same as
the first wave, people started bulk-buying from their homes and after the lockdown
partially opened, things turned back to normal, i.e. Subhasish’s earnings decreased as
people could now go to the market and buy vegetables whenever necessary instead of
bulk-buying from him. This reduced his sales. Compared to last year, the consumer
behavior definitely changed as during the last year’s festive season, people were afraid
to come out of their houses which is why they stayed indoors and Subhasish’s sales and
income, both were up but this year, people adopted a devil may care attitude even
though the second wave was still on going. As a result, even though procurement was
easy, sales were low. This reduced the income of Subhasish. However, that did not
affect him overall as his son was also working in the same business with him.
Now, the mood of the customers is very much positive. For the future, he expects the
consumer behavior to get back to normal. Subhasish intends to stick to his current
strategy for the next few months of his current business, i.e. to sell vegetables more and
more to the houses where elders live as due to their old age they are unable to visit the
market whenever they want to. He will shift his vegetable selling business to selling
fish in the fish market next year. If he did not plan to change his business next year then
he feels that he would have needed to change his Marketing Strategy.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Brief analysis of the chapter

In this chapter, we see how essential it is to change the marketing strategy when sales
and income is low. Sales also depend upon consumer behavior which needs to be
analyzed in any business in order to sustain it. Marketing should be done before the
festive season as during the festive season the consumer behavior changes and it cannot
be said with a 100% guarantee that after the festive season is over, things will get back
to normal.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Chapter 6

Conclusion
The case study revolves around a person who is not much educated and has been a
“Rickshaw-wala” since he was 22 years old. He had no idea about how a vegetable
selling business works but had to shift to that business due to some unforeseen
circumstances. Now, he had to learn about how a business works, the ins and outs of
certain situations in the business, how to formulate his own marketing strategy, how to
understand customers, how to supply the demand, what to do when he loses customers,
how to analyze consumer behaviour, how to establish yourself in a new environment,
how to procure vegetables when you are new in the business and so much more.
Subhasish had to go through a lot, from depriving his son from his education to planning
to shift from vegetable selling business to fish selling business. He realized that
economy is such a thing that is not constant, there are ups and downs. Mostly, during
the festive season the sales are up and the income he acquires from that is better off
when atleast 40% of it is in the bank.

The Government intervention was minimal. They did not provide any type of help to
these micro-entrepreneurs during the pandemic. During the first wave, they were
themselves confused as to what should be done during such a time of crisis. Other than
announcing a lockdown, they could not really do anything about it. In the second wave,
the Government was busy with the elections, campaigning and urging the people to join
their campaign. This put the general public at risk and was a disaster to the whole
scenario overall given the circumstances. As a result, the people’s trust over the
Government was somewhat shaken.

For the future, people are hoping for the things to turn out better than it is right now.
Even though the vaccination drive all over the country is taking place in a huge scale,
however, there is a possibility that a third wave might take place as several variants
have come up and the vaccines are not exactly providing long term immunity against
the virus. But people can understand this, they have become more health conscious than
before, everyone is wearing mask and sanitizing their hands in public places. Hence,
their facial expressions suggest that they are optimistic about the future. When I was
making this survey, the facial expression of Subhasish told me the same story when I
was asking him about the present conditions and what might happen in the future. All
his facial expressions told me that if a third wave comes, as he has now become
accustomed to this business, he will be better prepared than before.

The Government should come up with schemes that will help these micro-entrepreneurs
with their business, like providing them with a basic monetary help monthly. These
micro-entrepreneurs should also know how to save money, about 40% of their income
should stay in the bank and the rest should be used for expenses. Even if such a situation
arises where they are not making any income, then they should change their marketing
strategy according to the consumer behavior otherwise their sales would decrease and
sustaining the business might become a challenge for them which they won’t be able to
overcome, as they are not running huge businesses.

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Annexure 1

Name of the micro entrepreneur – Subhasish Ganguly

Place of interview – New Barrackpore, West Bengal
Type of the business venture – Vegetable Seller
Facial
Sl. Question Response Expression
Did you have any issue in the supply of raw
1 materials? Yes Sad
Trucks
From where were you procuring? How was the coming from
2 situation same before COVID led lockdown? Kolkata Happy
3 Did you face any challenges then? No Anxious
He was not
in this
If yes then what were the challenges and if no business
4 then why? before Anxious
Did it change after the first COVID led nationwide
5 lockdown happened during March 2020? No Happy
If no then why did you think that there was no Because no
6 change? other way Sad
7 If yes then how? - -
After the economy reopened in June – July 2020
i.e. after the first COVID led lockdown did input
8 prices change? Yes Happy
If yes then how, i.e. did it increase or decrease? If
9 no then why and if yes then how? Decrease Happy
10 How did you cope with it then? Neutral Neutral
Sales
11 Has this impacted the sales? If yes in what way? decreased Sad
Did despite the demand you were not able to
make enough sales as the raw materials did not
12 reach you on time? Sometimes Sad
Did you pass the increase cost to the customer in
13 the form of increased end prices? Yes Anxious
14 If no then why? - -
If yes then what proportion of the increased cost
did you pass on; was it the entire 100% increase in
cost, or more than 50% increase or less than 50%
15 increase? >50% Fear
Was the situation the same even during the
festive season i.e. during Rakhee, Dusherra and
16 Diwali? No Happy
Did this impact the sales during the festive
17 season? If no, then why and if yes then how? No Happy
After the deadly second wave and the economy
was partially locked down, did the supply again
18 get disrupted again? Yes Fear
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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Worse
situation than
19 If no then why and if yes then how? first wave Disgust
Was the disruption you faced the same as the
previous lockdown as this time there was no
20 nationwide lockdown? No Fear
By putting
his son to
21 How did you manage this time? work Sad
Were you better positioned as you already had
experience from the last lockdown that was more
22 stringent? No Sad
How strong was the supply chain disruption this
time; was it the same, was it less than before or
23 was it more than before? More Sad
Did this lead to any impact on the input prices?
Did the input prices increase, decrease or remain
24 the same? Increase Sad
25 How has been the supply of raw materials? Poor Sad
Please compare the supply before the pandemic, It was poor
during the pandemic led lockdown and after the but it got
26 pandemic led lockdown? better Happy
Last year during the festival time (Dusherra –
Diwali) when the lockdown was partially lifted was
27 the supply still disrupted? No Happy
28 Did that result in increase in cost price? No Happy
To incur
profit as
much as
29 What was your strategy then? possible Happy
Did you pass on the increase in cost price to the
30 end customer in the form of increased prices? Yes Anxious
31 If yes then how much? >50% Anxious
32 The entire portion or only a part? A part Anxious
To get back
33 Please explain the reason behind your strategy? on his feet Happy
Now after the re-opening of the deadly second
wave, and also massive vaccination is the
34 situation better from last year? Yes Happy
35 Has the procurement of raw materials easier? Yes Happy
Are the prices of the raw still high or have they
fallen? If not, then why did you think that the
36 prices did not fall? Fallen Happy
If they have fallen, then how much have they By about
37 fallen? 50% Happy
Have they reached the pre-Covid level or is it still
38 higher than that? Higher Fear
Have you passed on the increase cost prices to the
customer? If yes then how much, the entire part
39 or only a proportion like less than 50% of the >50% Fear

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

increase price rise or more than 50% increase in

price rise?
40 Are you not afraid that you may lose customers? Yes Disgust
41 How has been the supply of raw materials now? Better Happy
Please compare the supply before the pandemic,
during the pandemic led lockdown and after the It was poor
pandemic led lockdown? State the changes but it got
42 witnessed. better Happy
Last year during the festival time (Dusherra –
Diwali) when the lockdown was partially lifted was
43 the supply still disrupted? No Happy
44 Did that result in increase in cost price? No Happy
To incur
profit as
much as
45 What was your strategy then? possible Anxious
Did you pass on the increase in cost price to the
46 end customer in the form of increased prices? Yes Anxious
47 If yes then how much? >50% Fear
48 The entire portion or only a part? A portion Happy
To get back
49 Please explain the reason behind your strategy? on his feet Happy
Now after the re-opening of the deadly second
wave, and also massive vaccination is the
50 situation better from last year? Yes Happy
51 Has the procurement of raw materials eased? Yes Happy
Are the prices of the raw still high or have they
fallen? If not, then why did you think that the
52 prices did not fall? Fallen Happy
If they have fallen, then how much have they By about
53 fallen? 50% Happy
Have they reached the pre-Covid level or is it still
54 higher than that? Higher Fear
Have you passed on the increase cost prices to the
55 customer? >50% Fear
If yes then how much, the entire part or only a
proportion like less than 50% of the increase price
56 rise or more than 50% increase in price rise? Yes Disgust
57 Are you not afraid that you may lose customers? Afraid Fear
The supply
was poor but
58 Now how do you see things? it got better Happy
Are the things coming back to the pre-Covid level
59 or there is still some disruption there? No Sad
This festive are the things better than the
previous festive? What are your expectation of
60 the future? Better Happy

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Also, during the 2 lockdowns, did you receive any

61 help from the government? No Fear
Were you aware of any government scheme that
62 could have helped you? If yes then what? No Anxious
63 Did you expect any help from the government? Yes Fear
How your finances before the Covid were led
1 lockdown? Nominal Happy
2 Did you have a regular bank account? Yes Happy
3 Did you regularly save in the bank account? Monthly Happy
If not, a regular bank account what are the other
4 saving mechanism did you have? Nothing Anxious
5 Did you ever take any loans? No Happy
Won’t be
able to pay
6 If no then why? interest Sad
Also, how did you manage your finances without Borrowing
7 taking a loan? from relatives Neutral
8 If yes then where did you take the loan from? - -
Did you ever approach the government agencies
9 for loan like the banks or NBFCs? No Happy
Are you aware of Mudra loan? If yes then how
10 and did you ever avail it? If no then why? No Anxious
When the first lockdown was announced i.e. in
the month of March 2020, how many days of cash About a
11 did you have in hand? month Sad
Was this cash sufficient to sustain you during the
lockdown period or did you take financial help
12 from somebody? No Sad
13 What was the form of help? Borrow Happy
14 Was it in the form of loan? No Happy
Was it the same regular source of loan from
15 whom you had earlier taken the loan? Yes Happy
16 If yes then why and if no then why? No interest Happy
Was it sufficient to sustain you during the period
17 of lockdown? Somewhat Happy
After you opened when the economy partially
18 opened did you have sufficient working capital? Yes Happy
If no then how did you arrange for the working
19 capital? - -
If yes then how did you manage to get the By working
20 working capital? hard Sad
Was the working capital sufficient and if not, how
21 did you fulfill the gap? Sufficient Happy
Was there a change in the saving behavior after
22 the economy reopened after the first lockdown? Yes Happy
Did the last year festive season bring any change
23 in your earnings? Yes Happy
How did you find it, when you compared it to the
24 festive season of the previous years? Increased Happy

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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

After the economy started slowly opened up how

(i.e. the economy partially opened up) did your
25 financial condition change? Yes Sad
26 If no, then why and if yes then how? Decrease Sad
There was again a second lockdown during the
month of April 2021, due to the deadly second
wave. During the second lockdown were you
27 better prepared? No Fear
How many days of cash in hand did you have About 2
28 then? months Fear
Was it sufficient? If not, then how did you fulfill
29 the gap? No Sad
30 Did you take help from the regular source? No Happy
Because he
put his son to
31 If yes then why and if no then why? work Angry
After the economy partially opened up did this
32 time you had sufficient working capital? Yes Happy
By changing
If yes then how did you manage to maintain your his financial
33 working capital? behaviour Happy
Was there any change in your financial behavior
that made you better prepared for the lockdown
34 during the second time? Yes Happy
Having more
35 If no then why and if yes how? money Happy
This time, the first time there was no full
36 lockdown and there was only partial lockdown. Yes Sad
According to you was this better than the
37 previous full lockdown? No Sad
How did the partial lockdown impact your
38 finances compared to the full lockdown? Decreased Angry
We have entered the festive season and there is
still partial lockdown. But do you think the
conditions have improved, compared to the last
39 year? Yes Anxious
40 How do you see your finances? Improved Happy
Is it the same, better off or worse off compared to
41 the last year? Better off Happy
Has, your finances improved to the pre-Covid
42 level? Yes Happy
Did the festive this year-round bring the same
level of hope and expectations like the pre-Covid
43 years? No Sad
Did your finances improve like all other festive
44 years? If no then what is the deficiency? Yes Happy
45 What are your expectations from the future? - -
Do you think that things will become normal from
46 here? Someday Anxious
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COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Large scale
vaccination
drive &
If yes then why, if no then why and if don’t know consciousnes
47 then why? s of people Anxious
48 Has your financial behavior changed? Yes Happy
Have you started provisioning (like opening a bank
account and saving money, or buying some
insurance policy for the future etc.) for a situation
49 like this in future? Yes Happy
If no then why and if yes then why? Explain the To tackle
50 reason behind your strategy? future events Fear
Again, in term of finances too did you receive any
51 help from the government? No Disgust
During the first lockdown was there any help from
52 the government? No Disgust
Did anyone from the government approach you
53 during the 2 lockdowns? No Disgust
Were you aware of any government schemes like
easy loans at lower rate of interest, or longer
54 payoff time etc.? No Anxious
55 Did you expect anything from the government? Yes Sad
Is it the same, better off or worse off compared to
41 the last year? Better off Happy
Has, your finances improved to the pre-Covid
42 level? Yes Happy
Did the festive this year-round bring the same
level of hope and expectations like the pre-Covid
43 years? No Sad
Did your finances improve like all other festive
44 years? If no then what is the deficiency? Yes Happy
45 What are your expectations from the future? - -
Do you think that things will become normal from
46 here? Someday Anxious
Large scale
vaccination
drive &
If yes then why, if no then why and if don’t know consciousnes
47 then why? s of people Anxious
48 Has your financial behavior changed? Yes Happy
Have you started provisioning (like opening a bank
account and saving money, or buying some
insurance policy for the future etc.) for a situation
49 like this in future? Yes Happy
If no then why and if yes then why? Explain the To tackle
50 reason behind your strategy? future events Fear
Again, in term of finances too did you receive any
51 help from the government? No Disgust
During the first lockdown was there any help from
52 the government? No Disgust

15
COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

Did anyone from the government approach you

53 during the 2 lockdowns? No Disgust
Were you aware of any government schemes like
easy loans at lower rate of interest, or longer
54 payoff time etc.? No Anxious
55 Did you expect anything from the government? Yes Sad
With the onset of the first lockdown and did you
see any change in the behavior of the customer
(This question is only for vegetable vendors whose
services fell under essential services and hence
1 were allowed to run even during lockdown). Yes Happy
After the partial reopening of the economy did
you open your store (this question is for vendors
2 who did not fall under the essential category)? - -
Did you see any change in the footfalls? What
3 were the changes positive, negative or neutral? Positive Happy
4 How did this impact your sales? Increased Happy
Did you notice any change in the behavior of the
5 consumer when compared to the pre-Covid time? Yes Happy
6 What were these changes? Bulk-buying Happy
7 Did these changes impact your business? Yes Happy
Sales
8 If yes then how and if no then why? increased Happy
9 How did you cope with these changes? - -
Did you adopt any particular marketing strategy
10 to retain the sales? No Anxious
If yes then what type of marketing strategy did
11 you adopt? - -
Because it
was already
12 If no then why did you not try to retain the sales? going great Happy
During the festive season, when the sales are
usually high how was the sales last year when you
compare it with the sales of the previous weeks
after the lockdown partially opened? Did the sales
13 increase, remain same or decreased? Decreased Sad
People had
the liberty to
visit the
14 Can you explain the reason behind this? market Sad
When you compare with the sales of the previous
15 year’s festive season, how did you find the sales? - -
Was the level of the sales the same or was it more
or less than the previous year’s sales of the festive
16 season? - -
If yes then why, if no then why and if yes then
17 why? - -
During the festive season, do you have any add-
18 ons to sell? No Neutral
16
COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

If no then why as most small business resort to

19 some add-on sale to boost their finances? - -
20 If yes then what are these add-ons? - -
Did you use these add-ons in the last year festive
21 season too? No Neutral
22 If yes then what? What was the response? - -
If no then why? Slowly as the economy opened up
23 did the response of the customer change? Yes Sad
If no, then what according to you was the reason
24 for the non-changing? - -
If yes what was the change in the customer Stopped Bulk-
25 behavior? buying Sad
26 How did it impact the sales? Decreased Sad
By changing
the marketing
27 How did you cope with the change? strategy Happy
Was there any change in your marketing strategy
28 to cope with the change? Yes Happy
Returned
back to the
How did things change after the second lockdown previous
29 and the deadly second wave? year’s stage Happy
Was the consumer behavior the same or did you
observe a change in the behavior of the customer
during the lockdown (This question will be only
for those students who intend to interview people
who are engaged in the business of essentials like
30 vegetable vendors, milk sellers)? Change Happy
After the lockdown partially opened did you
observe any change in their behavior (For people
who are interviewing micro business owners of
31 non-essential services)? - -
If yes then what was the change in the buying
32 behavior? Did this change impact your sales? Bulk-buying Happy
If yes then how i.e. the sales increased or
33 decreased? If no then why? Increased Happy
With the advent of the festive season did you
observe any change in the consumer behavior
34 especially when you compare it with last year? Yes Sad
How did this impact the sales i.e. positively or
35 negatively? Negatively Sad
Sales
decreased
If it has affected positively then how and due to lack of
36 negatively then why? lockdown Sad
If it has hit positively then how did you prepare
37 for meeting the increased demand? - -
Now during this festival how do you find the
customer behavior different from the behavior
38 during last year? Changed Neutral

17
COVID 19 and Subsequent Lockdown: Impact on Small and Micro Entrepreneurs

People are
visiting the
39 If no then why and if yes then how it is different? market more Sad
How has the changed customer behavior
impacted your sales, positively, negatively or it
40 has remained the same? Negatively Sad
If it has improved positively, then how have you
41 adjusted to the increase in demand? - -
How do you find the mood of the customer now?
42 Positive, negative or neutral? Positive Happy
Did based on their mood, did you have any add –
ons especially for the festivals like Rakhi,
43 Dusherra, Diwali etc.? - -
44 If yes then what? - -
45 What was the response? - -
For the
future,
consumer
behaviour to
improve and
a change in
What are your expectations for the future? Do marketing
you think a change in strategy especially in strategy is
46 marketing is needed? needed Anxious
47 Did you ever think of changing your profession? Yes Happy

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