Eighty-five per cent of small-business owners interviewed for an American Express survey said they were in a better or similar financial position than they were two months previously and were positive about their financial position.
The Amex report – ‘The Economy of Shopping Small: Custom Counts’ – found that this outlook is set against an increasingly challenging consumer retail landscape.
Thirty-seven per cent of consumer respondents said they increased their frequency of ‘shopping small’ in the two-month period, while 61 per cent also increased their shopping with large business in the same period. A quarter of consumers decreased their trips to small businesses, compared with an eighth of consumers with big businesses.
“Small businesses continue to adapt and evolve in this new retail environment,” American Express Vice President Small Merchant Katrina Konstas said. “However, the increasing proportion of national and online retailers represent a real threat. Whether we realise it or not, small businesses have made ongoing valuable contributions to the world around us.”
Other key findings of the report included:
- Overall, small business owners are content: 83 per cent of small business owners interviewed say they are satisfied and only 10 per cent would not go into business again. Only eight per cent say small business has not lived up to their expectations.
- But their commitment sometimes comes at a cost: for every two small business owners that say small business has had a positive impact on their wellbeing, one reports a negative deterioration of mental health, physical health or home life. Almost half say running a small business has had an adverse effect on their personal time.
- The landscape will continue to be dynamic: 29 per cent of individuals surveyed do not intend to be running their business five years from now, while 56 per cent are planning on staying the course for next 10 years and have significant plans for the future.
To encourage its own card members to shop in small businesses throughout November, American Express will provide a $10 statement credit to those card members who have registered their cards in the ‘Shop Small’ promotion and make a purchase at a participating small business. Card members will receive the credit each time they spend $20 or more in different participating small businesses – up to 10 times.