Coronavirus corrects business

Hope for the dollar with caution

The era of digital currencies is coming

3D visualization as a marketing tool

Pros and cons of virtual exhibitions

Everything that happened last week in Ukraine and the world and that is relevant to the furniture maker, read in our digest:

1. The majority of small businesses – 80% – assess the current economic situation in the country as unfavourable for doing business.

Half of the small businesses do not plan to increase staff and raise salaries. Only 18% will hire additional staff, and 23% will increase employees’ salaries.

According to the survey, every fifth entrepreneur is preparing to take a loan in 2021. However, 64% believe that taking a loan in Ukraine is difficult or impossible.

As for the impact of the pandemic on small business, 58% of respondents noted a decrease in the number of orders, 18% were forced to review the business model and look for new directions.

Only 3% increased sales and opened new markets, and 14% did not notice the impact of coronavirus on their activities.

2. The authoritative Goldman Sachs Group believes that the position of the US dollar as a world reserve currency is under threat, as evidenced by the recent rise in gold prices. According to Goldman strategists, the dollar is threatened by several risks, namely: the US Federal Reserve may shift towards inflation, growing political uncertainty and growing fears associated with another outbreak of coronavirus infection in the country.

Rising debt levels in the United States, which now exceed 80% of the country’s gross domestic product, and in other countries increase the risk that central banks and governments may accelerate inflation.

3. Thanks to significant advances in electronic financial technologies, 5G networks, smartphones and e-commerce, the world’s major economies are increasingly aware of the possibility of switching to digital currencies, which will become an important part of the future monetary system.

Today, China is a world leader in the development of the digital yuan, which is being tested in many Chinese cities, but the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are also actively studying the viability of their digital currencies.

The United States intends to take special responsibility for the creation of the digital dollar, given that the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.

4. 3D-visualization will help to stay ahead of competitors in the furniture market. It allows you to reduce marketing costs, as a traditional photoshoot is a complex and expensive process. Advances in 3D modelling technology have ushered in a new era of virtual product visualization, offering brands a cheaper and more convenient alternative. Digital technologies allow you to create photorealistic models of goods in unlimited quantities.

IKEA was one of the first to use three-dimensional product visualization in the early 2000s, placing computer models of furniture in its catalogue. Today, more than 75% of their advertising images are 3D rendering.

3D-rendering allows you to “take” several images from all possible angles and perspectives, providing consumers with a lot of visual evidence of the quality and characteristics of the product. In addition, you can easily change the colours, patterns and textures of the product without actually changing it.

5. Recently, when more and more events are cancelled, there is nothing left but to hold exhibitions online. Visitors can “visit” virtual exhibitions anywhere and at any time. All you need to visit is a computer or mobile device with a good internet connection.

With interactive features such as chat, questions and answers, webinars, webcasts and more, virtual trade shows expand the reach of exhibitors. Online exhibitions are more profitable, increase the customer base of exhibitors, as most of the visitors to the exhibition are not customers of exhibiting companies.

The biggest disadvantage of such exhibitions is the lack of live communication between people. Visitors to the virtual event can not avoid distractions that make participation in the exhibition inferior. Participation in traditional exhibitions is a desirable opportunity for employees of exhibiting companies to break away from the walls of offices for a while. Virtual exposure does not provide for such a business trip.

That is why the exhibition, initiated and organized by UAFM together with the exhibition company Euroindex to promote the common brand of Ukrainian furniture FURNITURE OF UKRAINE, FUBE – 2021 will be held from 7 to 9 April in a hybrid format, combining the privileges of online and offline events. Business representatives (they are the focus of the exhibition) will have the opportunity to hold meetings both in-person in the KievExpoPlaza exhibition pavilion and on the online exhibition platform, having selected potential partners in advance. Recall that during the exhibition there will be a conference, the speakers of which will be experts from furniture production, retail, design, clustering and construction.

The detailed program of the conference will be published in the near future, follow the updates on the sites and social networks of UAFM.