The latest HARDI Pulse survey responses discussing COVID-19 impact show positive movement on most of the fronts discussed. While survey coordinators Sarah Jilbert and Brandin Bursa are diligent in noting that results are not statistically significant but are meant to provide a “general ‘pulse’ of where the industry sits,” that pulse clearly indicates that sales on the distributor side is rebounding.

Asked how much sales were down for that particular survey week, the tally over time has consistently funneled away from the most severe response categories. Those reporting recent decreases of 5 percent or more have dropped from 66 percent to 38 percent. Around 15 percent have seen steady sales throughout, and 30 percent of May 4 respondents said sales were actually up, steadily improved through the previous month after an initial number of only 8 percent for April 13.