Small business owners fear a decline in revenue during the holiday shopping season could lead to bankruptcy or closure.
SEATTLE, WA – Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has published a new survey report to examine holiday season sales among small retailers. The study provides insight into how lost revenue could impact small businesses. Research experts analyzed responses from 1,250 small business owners across the United States.
According to the study, 27 percent of small retail businesses say permanent closure is a possibility if they fail to meet sales goals this holiday season. Likewise, 24 percent of business owners say they will consider bankruptcy if low sales continue through the end of the year. Nineteen percent of respondents reported that Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were down this year, compared to 2020.
Survey results indicate that second-hand stores, department stores, grocery stores, and discount stores are more likely to close permanently for business. Thirty-four percent of second-hand stores and 32 percent of department stores say that closure is a strong possibility. Grocery store and discount-store owners account for 32 and 31 percent of respondents who expect to cease operations. In contrast, 35 percent of restaurants and 44 percent of personal care services will consider salary cuts or layoffs to stay afloat.
Research findings indicate that 50 percent of respondents believe shutdowns during the pandemic impacted their revenue. Labor shortages, inflation, and supply chain issues also contributed to poor sales performance among small retail businesses. Brick and mortar businesses are more likely to experience staffing constraints than online stores. Forty-two percent of businesses that operate store-front locations say labor shortages affected their revenue, compared to 32 percent of online-only businesses.
Digital.com commissioned this independent study, which was administered via Pollfish, the online survey platform. The survey was conducted on December 4, 2021. Small business owners with less than 500 employees were selected based on a screening question. Respondents were asked to answer all questions truthfully and to the best of their abilities. To access the complete report, please visit: https://digital.com/without-holiday-sales-bump-1-in-4-small-retail-businesses-in-danger-of-permanent-closure/.
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Digital.com reviews and compares the best products, services, and software for running or growing a small business website or online shop. The platform collects twitter comments and uses sentiment analysis to score companies and their products. Digital.com was founded in 2015 and was formerly known as Review Squirrel. To learn more, visit https://digital.com/.
