Update to January’s Printing Outlook 2020 report gauges current and potential impact of the coronavirus crisis on the industry, and complements the original report’s analysis of the latest industry and cultural technological trends.

WhatTheyThink announces the immediate availability of the “COVID-19 Update” to the Printing Outlook 2020 at the WhatTheyThink Report Store. This update is based on a March 2020 survey of print business owners that asked about the current and expected impacts of the crisis.

Some findings:

• One-half (49%) of our survey respondents expect that the crisis will be moderately severe and persist through the summer.
• Three-fourths (74%) are expecting a 10+% drop in revenues for 2020.
• Nearly one-half have downsized their production staff (or are expected to).

The Update includes numerous write-in responses to an open-ended survey question, which provides a useful lens through which to view the quantitative survey results.

The report also updates WhatTheyThink’s industry forecast for 2020 value of shipments (and value of shipments through 2028). Since no one knows how long the crisis will persist—will it end by the end of summer? Will it last into 2021 and even beyond?—and what its ultimate impact on the economy at large will be, the Update offers best- and worst-case scenarios. The report also updates select macroeconomic data series.

The Update also includes the original report, which had included the results of WhatTheyThink’s Fall 2019 Business Outlook Survey, which identified prevailing trends in the industry that will persist once the crisis is over—and may even be accelerated by the crisis. Back in the Fall, survey respondents said that:

• “Pricing” was their number one challenge, with “competition from other print providers” a close second.
• “Customers outsourcing more work to us” and “partnering with other print providers” were cited as the top business opportunities for 2020.
• Few print businesses had any substantial planned investments for 2020.

The original report looks back at 2019, offers the government data on (pre-crisis) printing industry shipments, establishments, profits, and employment, as well as some technology and cultural trends the industry should prepare itself for once the crisis has ended. 

The report is available in the WhatTheyThink Report Store at  https://store.whattheythink.com/downloads/printing-outlook-2020/.