While widespread testing will be key to Wall Street banks having their employees return to their offices worldwide, auto manufacturers plan to reopen factories this month. Fiat Chrysler and Tesla are set to restart production May 4.
Retailers, like Levi Strauss, will see how China is doing as that country’s economy has started to reopen in the last several weeks after quarantine orders were relaxed. The clothing maker will evaluate customer habits in China and use that experience to guide how it reopens stores in the U.S. Malls and brick-and-mortar retailers may struggle for a while as jittery customers who have shopped online during the quarantine continue to shop virtually after stay-at-home restrictions are lifted.
“For some things demand will snap back immediately,” says Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Those jobs—dentists, healthcare, barber shops—there’s a backlog of demand. Then there’s a similar category, like restaurants and bars, where people may be cooped up for so long that they’re desperate to go out to eat or get a drink. For other industries, the same urgency may not exist. It’s going to take a while for people to start buying new cars and new homes. And for some industries, like retail and airlines, things may never get back to normal.”