Vaccines have enabled some parts of the world to regain a sense of normalcy after more than a year of living under restrictions instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenges individuals faced in that time, including staying healthy, dealing with the consequences of social distancing and virtual schooling, may be subsiding.

But various long-term challenges could affect businesses for years to come.

Consumer trust and loyalty

Businesses spend years developing trust in their brands and services.

Businesses that were forced to close or limit their offerings during the pandemic may need to start rebuilding the trust and loyalty of their customers all over again.

One factor that could make that a bigger challenge after the pandemic is how businesses that remained open handled restrictions.

Those that insisted customers wear masks in their stores and establishments may not be quick to regain the trust and loyalty of customers who disagreed with those practices.

That could prove especially challenging for small businesses that work on thin margins.

Reduced demand

A 2020 survey of leading European companies conducted by the European Central Bank found that reduced demand for products and services is a significant concern for business owners going forward.

Roughly 30 percent of survey respondents cited reduced demand as one of the foremost consequences of the pandemic for their businesses.

More than 20 percent indicated lasting changes in the structure of demand will prove challenging in the years ahead.

That change in the structure of demand, which includes increased consumption online, could force business owners to make potentially costly adjustments to how consumers access their products.

Staffing

Businesses may find the competition for talent is especially competitive after the pandemic.

Workers who worked remotely during the pandemic may be reluctant to leave their jobs if they're allowed to continue work ing remotely as economies reopen.

That means fewer qualified candidates for open positions, especially if those positions do not offer the remote work option. In addition, firms based in large cities may not have as many applicants for their openings in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

A June 2020 study from the Pew Research Center found that 28 percent of the 10,000 adults surveyed who relocated during the pandemic did so because they feared getting COVID-19.

Cities where maintaining distance from others was difficult were viewed as riskier than less populous areas.

It might be some time before people who left cities or planned to move to cities prior to the pandemic are comfortable living in such crowded places again.

That could make it more challenging for city-based businesses to attract qualified job applicants.

Businesses could face some new, long-term challenges as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.