Survey finds signs of slow, steady improvement for downtown Winnipeg businesses

Workers and customers at downtown Winnipeg businesses show signs of returning but remain a long way off from the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. 

Using data gathered from cellphones, the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone tracked the number of visitors coming downtown each day. Over the last three months, the average number of daily visits each week has risen from 87,661 the week ending Jan. 9, to 124,573 the week ending April 3, an increase of 41 per cent.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the economy Winnipeg's downtown, but even as the public health orders that forced many businesses to close have ended, many of workers who supported those businesses have not yet returned.

In a survey conducted by Probe Research from March 9 and 21, responses indicated a steady increase in the of pre-pandemic downtown workers who are back full time, from 18 per cent in December 2020 to 28 per cent in March 2022.

Downtown BIZ spokesperson Pamela Hardman says she's encouraged by those numbers.

"It's pretty on par with other cities across Canada," she said.

Still, the vast majority of respondents said they are either working from home full time now (33 per cent), working downtown part time (19 per cent) or are no longer working (17 per cent).

There are signs that could improve, as two-thirds of those working from home said they expect to return to the office either full time or part time. More than half of those expected to return by May at the latest.

Overall, two-thirds of those who worked downtown before the pandemic said they had or would soon be returning to work, at least part time.

The 600 respondents sampled completed the survey online. Some were recruited by a live operator, others through interactive voice response calls and some are members of Probe's online panel. The survey has a margin of error of four per cent.

The long-term trend also shows signs of improvement. Downtown visits were 30 per cent higher in March 2022 than they were the same month last year.

Making downtown attractive

Part of the challenge for the BIZ will be convincing workers the downtown office is a better place to be than the home office.

"We're working hard to have events this summer and really create that vibrancy again and bring people back," Hardman said.

Events like an expanded farmers market and lunchtime concert series will hopefully draw workers in, she said. There are other intangible benefits to working around other people.

"It's the connection with their colleagues and that face-to-face time again, as well as all the things that you can find downtown that you can't find anywhere else," Hardman said.

This latest report shows signs of improvement from last year. According to a report by the Downtown BIZ released in July 2021, titled State of Downtown, roughly 2,200 events were held downtown in 2019, resulting in 6.8 million visits. 

Over 75 per cent of events were cancelled in 2020.

The cancellation and postponement of more than 100 national and international business conferences and large-scale events resulted in a loss of at least 56,000 people going downtown, as well as 86,000 room nights at hotels and more than $59 million in expected spending, according to the report.

At that time, only 20 per cent of the approximately 70,000 people who worked downtown before the pandemic had returned full time.