The seemingly never-ending drive through queues for McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks underline the fact many consumers are craving a slice of normality amongst the restrictions of the crisis. Yet for small businesses, so often a cornerstone of the community, their precarious financial position means that a return to trading may become impossible.

In Belgium as bars and restaurants prepare to reopen next week following two and a half months of forced closure, a new campaign is providing a lifeline. ‘Helpy Hour’ urges Belgian beer lovers to buy one drink for the price of two in support of their favourite locals. 

The campaign is the work of Happiness, an FCB Alliance and the federation of Belgian cafes to help cafe and bar owners recover. It marks a step-change for an industry which has long relied on discounting and ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ as the cornerstone of marketing communications. 

Yet unprecedented times call for truly unprecedented measures and now more than ever consumers will need to dig deep to support small businesses through lockdown. This is particularly true for the hospitality industry where social distancing measures will drastically impact the ability of companies to turn a profit.

According to the federation of Belgian cafes, 12,000 cafes may not survive the coronavirus crisis. This campaign underlines the need to take a fresh approach to the current challenges, particularly if small businesses are to survive. Otherwise the daily rituals we so long took for granted may well be gone forever.