@sstsau wrote:
Strange...for me, competition seems to be much higher. None of the shops are getting very high bonuses before being snatched up. Many of them seem to be taken at base pay. I don't know, maybe there are just a couple of really active shoppers in my area who are taking all the shops early?
Local economics maybe, sstsau.
Perhaps on the larger scale, things are imbalanced in favor shoppers, but then locally there are pockets of imbalances going towards MSCs.
I just know that here in Virginia, we have one of the better unemployment rates (likely due to so many government and military jobs that are recession proof) compared with other states, so there may be less "desperation" among shoppers. Check your state/city's unemployment figures and how they rank nationwide.
I haven't seen more shops (definitely less), but not that much less. I'm guessing 10% of shops are gone, but that means lots of shops still exist. Gone are lots of restaurant shops that paid a nice fee on top of reimbursement. But, surprisingly, there is one that is going very strong. Very good bonus/fee ($20-40) on top of the meal. Whenever I've driven by the place, it's always got plenty of cars in front of it.
Coming out of the recession, there could be some big winners amongst the surviving restaurants as weaker competitors and/or those not getting PPP aid could have gone under. It'll be interesting to hear stories of how people's shops and local economies are doing.