How the US government shutdown is impacting parties, businesses

Robert Passikoff is the President of Brand Keys and began watching the effects of the shutdown as it happened. His research shows that within a single day, sentiment toward the Democratic party decreased nearly 10% while sentiment toward Republicans dipped 16%.

“One brand engagement certainty we’ve seen play out over the years is the Engagement Rule of Six. That rule states where brands are stronger than competitors, consumers are six times more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt in uncertain circumstances, which we think is a pretty fair description of a Federal government shutdown,” said Passikoff.

Meanwhile Manta polled small business owners to get their feeling on the shutdown. The result: most SMBs (64%) believe the shutdown will harm the overall US economy while nearly half (46%) say it will negatively impact their small business specifically.

As for who small businesses blame for the shutdown, about one-third say President Obama is to blame while about one-quarter say both Democrats and Republicans are ‘equally to blame’ for the shutdown.

Most small businesses (55%) say they are ‘not in favor’ of a government shutdown.