According to Forbes, the holiday rush can be a stressful time for small business retailers. Owners have to account for staffing issues, lack of capital, inventory, opening another location, boosting advertising, and insufficient personal time. Amidst the shopping, box office blockbusters and holiday cheer, retailers with fewer than 100 employees were surveyed to gauge their outlook for the holiday season.
Overshadowed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday super savings from large department and discount stores, small businesses can still find success through other avenues like word-of-mouth, communities and customer loyalty. Taking advantage of the holiday season and ending 2016 on a high note can set up a small business for success in 2017. The first step of that is to be properly prepared. Survey findings show that 87 percent of small businesses are confident in their preparations for the holiday season and 81 percent are confident this season will be a success for their business.
Growth of Small Business Saturday
Holiday shopping numbers so far show that small business retailers’ confidence this season has been well founded. In 2016, awareness and support for small businesses hit a record high. According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 72 percent of U.S. shoppers were aware of Small Business Saturday and 112 million consumers shopped and dined on Nov. 26 to support local businesses across the country.
The 13 percent increase in consumers participating in Small Business Saturday can be attributed to social media, which has seen 135 million engagements so far this month in relation to the day.
Small Businesses that Aren’t Confident This Holiday Season: Lack of Capital
Despite the success, there are still retailers that aren’t confident this season. Among the 13 percent of businesses that feel unprepared, the largest group (30 percent) cited lack of capital as the reason.
In order for small business retailers to succeed and continue to be key drivers of the economy, access to options for business-sustaining capital is crucial. Even for small business retailers that are confident this holiday season, just 27 percent said they didn’t expect to need additional financing. For owners needing capital, 81 percent said they would only need $50,000 or less, with building inventory (56 percent) and boosting advertising (28 percent) being the most common needs for additional financing.
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Forbes – Survey: 81% of Small Business Owners Confident this Holiday Season