Labour shortages, higher taxes, inflation and parking are the main issues or challenges that downtown businesses expect to face in the next five years, a new survey says.
Meanwhile, business owners want to see properly maintained buildings, more mixed-used retail with apartments on top floors, enhanced mural projects and more tourist attractions.
The Downtown Moose Jaw Association (DMJA) conducted a survey from March 3 to 24 and asked owners about their needs and how the association could benefit them; 41 businesses responded to the questionnaire.
After tallying the results, the downtown group presented some highlights during its recent annual general meeting. It also posted the results to downtownmoosejaw.ca.
Helpful feedback
The association conducted the survey because it wanted to acquire a sense of how business owners are doing, what they’re thinking and attain ideas for the future, explained Craig Hemingway, manager of communications and stakeholder relations for the city and spokesman for the association.
“We’re getting our feet under us … and trying to really start to get a sense and communicate with our business owners and our groups downtown about their priorities and we how we can be better,” he said. “And any feedback we get is great feedback because every little bit helps.”
Survey says …
Hemingway highlighted eight takeaways from the survey, including:
- 39 per cent of people said “other” in the business-type category, while 22 per cent said professional services (health and wellness, automotive repair, design, etc.)
- 54 per cent have owned their business for more than 10 years
- 37 per cent said their main demographic is women, while 47 per cent were unsure who their demographic is
- 48 per cent of people said their main customer age range is 35 to 49, while 21 per cent said it was 49 to 65 years of age and 18 per cent said it was 25 to 35 years of age
- Over 70 per cent said their main audience was residents and not tourists
- 33 per cent of respondents said their business was family-owned, while 30 per cent were women-owned and 2.5 per cent were minority-owned
- 54 per cent leased their building, while 46 per cent owned it
- 42 per cent of respondents said their sales improved in the past year, while 35 per cent said it had remained the same and 22.5 per cent said it decreased
The five programs or initiatives that business owners said could positively affect them included:
- An increased number of family-friendly events (30.77 per cent)
- Increased marketing efforts (25 per cent)
- Using digital tools to tell the story of downtown landmarks (20.51 per cent)
- Education to help visitors with parking (20 per cent)
- Better signs to direct tourists downtown (15 per cent)
The top five resources that could help businesses meet their goals included:
- Advertising and promotions (57.8 per cent)
- Marketing and place branding (47.3 per cent)
- Low-interest business loans (42.1 per cent)
- Employee hiring and training (36.8 per cent)
- Networking events (36.8 per cent)
The role that most respondents wanted the DMJA to play included creating/hosting downtown events/festivals (65 per cent), implementing beautification projects (55 per cent), marketing downtown businesses and amenities (52.5 per cent), creating new attractions (42.5 per cent) and creating/hosting informational seminars/forums with downtown-focused development experts (27.5 per cent).
Lastly, 30 per cent of respondents said they would pay a yearly fee to become a DMJA member, while 35 per cent said no and 35 per cent needed more details.
The association does not have an exact number of current members, although it does have 78 businesses on its email list, the AGM heard. However, a business owner at the meeting suggested there could be 200 businesses that qualify as members in the future.
