Objectives:

the paper analyzes the impact that COVID-19 has had on expenditures, sales, expectations, perceptions of government policies, remedial measures, and adaptation to the crisis of the small and medium-sized service and commercial firms (SME) in the Metropolitan Area of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Methodology:

Description of the survey results, non-parametric tests, estimation of the transition matrix, and regression analysis.

Results:

Evidence of a) a dramatic drop in income in the face of a certain inflexibility towards the reduction of expenditures, b) dissimilar strategies that firms adopt to cope with the crisis, c) negative expectations of a soon return to normality.

Limitations and implications:

Difficulty in identifying causality and generalization of the results.

Originality and value:

Extended survey that characterizes the economic situation and expectations prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.

Conclusions:

Many SMES will be in a compromised economic situation in the present and near future, and we highlight the need to develop policies and strategies that improve their possibilities of survival.