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The major bank’s head of behavioural and industry economics revealed target sectors brokers could be supporting as the country emerges from COVID restrictions.
Speaking during National Australia Bank’s (NAB) Commercial Broker Economic Webinar on Thursday (17 February), Dean Pearson, NAB’s head of behavioural and industry economics, discussed various themes across the economy, including rising business confidence, the impacts of labour shortages on Australian businesses and global supply constraints.
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During the webinar, Mr Pearson was asked by a broker viewer whether there were any key industries they should be targeting to offer support to as we move to a “post COVID world” and as restrictions in NSW and Victoria start to ease.
In response, Mr Pearson noted several areas that brokers could focus on: “[Before COVID], most rich economies were transitioning from buying stuff that we didn't need/buying goods, and spending much more money on experiences and services. Then COVID hit.. and then we transitioned to actually buying stuff again, because we needed computers, monitors, chairs, all this sort of stuff.
“Now what should happen as the Omicron wave recedes and we go back to a ‘new normal’, services should boom again.”
However, he added that consumer expectations may have changed over COVID, when e-commerce was rife, requiring a rethink of business models.
Mr Pearson explained: “[With] the pivot back to services, people still want to go out, and still want that human contact, so the rebalancing towards services should happen. But that sophistication of using... ‘omnichannel’ (that horrible word) is really there.
“If you’re a business now there is an expectation that you will have a business that people can go into where they can experience/touch things but they might not buy from you [right away]. They might use that physical store as a place to experience that thing but then go away and buy it online.
“So this whole ‘omni channel’ experience is also important for businesses. Those that can capture people from showing them a product to actually making a seamless experience where they can transact online are definitely going to get ahead.”
The head of behavioural and industry economics added, however, that certain industries could also require support to grow and thrive due to ongoing supply chain issues and shipping delays.
“What is really clear is that many countries across the world have been caught out by supply chain issues, but more importantly, shortages of really fundamentally important things like medical supplies,” he said.
“So, the first big trend is economies across the world are looking towards shoring up their own economy in the event that another crisis happens.
“So areas like manufacturing, especially high-tech manufacturing, can be reborn in many economies and even in ours, but the medical side of things is important.”
Concluding the webinar, Chris Thomas, the executive, NAB commercial broker and equipment finance, thanked Mr Pearson for his insights and brokers for attending the webinar, adding: “On behalf of NAB, we really enjoy your custom and the partnership that you’ve bestowed on us. We really treat that as quite sacred to us because our promise to you all is that we will continue to support you and support SMEs to grow in our economy.
“We want to be your proud partner and help you create that prosperity and jobs within your community.”
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