Small Businesses Bracing For Challenging Holiday Season Amid Inflation Concerns, New Study Shows

Fixed Contact’s Small Enterprise Now report reveals 89 % of small companies have felt the affect of inflation as they put together for the yr’s most crucial gross sales interval

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Constant Contact, a digital advertising and marketing and automation platform that has helped hundreds of thousands of small companies and nonprofits globally, at present introduced its newest Small Business Now report. That includes insights from over 1,600 small companies (SMBs) and three,000 customers throughout the USA, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the findings point out that an unstable world economic system and shifting client behaviors are placing strain on SMBs as they try to take advantage of the yr’s ultimate quarter.

Many small companies rely on a strong holiday season to make ends meet, and whereas inflation has cooled from earlier highs, its longtail affect is being felt by each SMBs and their clients. Fixed Contact’s Small Enterprise Now report reveals that 89 % of SMBs globally have been impacted by inflation, and 52 % of customers have lowered their spending at SMBs because of inflationary pressures. With 33 % of SMBs saying they really feel essentially the most strain to drive income within the fourth quarter, adjusting their advertising and marketing to account for these challenges shall be important to their success this vacation season.

“Small companies are extremely resilient, however as they head into a vacation season full of uncertainty, they need to get proactive of their advertising and marketing to make sure success,” stated Sarah Jordan, chief advertising and marketing officer at Fixed Contact. “Our research exhibits that regardless of inflation, customers nonetheless wish to help small companies, so the SMBs who thrive would be the ones who begin their vacation advertising and marketing early, streamline their work with automations, and have interaction clients persistently all through the season.”

Inflation is forcing SMBs and customers to adapt their vacation strategy

Virtually each SMB polled is taking motion to mitigate the affect of inflation on their enterprise, and vacation customers are rethinking the place they buy items.

• 46 % of SMBs have in the reduction of on bills to handle prices, and 39 % have raised costs
• Canadian small companies are the least more likely to have raised their costs (35 %)
• 52 % of customers globally have lowered their spending at small companies this yr, led by Australia (60 %) and Canada (56 %)
• The proportion of U.S. customers planning to lower their spending at small companies (52 %) has almost doubled since 2022 (27 %)
• 62 % of customers cite worth as a key issue of their vacation procuring choices

Throughout their busy season, SMBs will not be assured of their advertising and marketing

Small companies plan on getting most of their annual income in the course of the vacation season, and that urgency causes them to spend additional time on advertising and marketing in the course of the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, many SMBs unfold themselves too skinny and wrestle to see a return on their efforts.

• The % of SMBs that attribute no less than 50 % of annual gross sales to the vacation interval has almost doubled since 2023
• Canadian small companies are essentially the most reliant on vacation gross sales, with 21 % stating no less than half of their annual income is generated over the last quarter
• 65 % of SMBs wrestle with both funds constraints or time administration over the last quarter
• 79 % of SMBs who measure their advertising and marketing effectiveness really feel unsure that their vacation technique was efficient in 2023
• 20 % of SMBs haven’t any method to measure the affect of their vacation advertising and marketing

Ready till October to plan is a missed alternative for SMBs

October is taken into account the unofficial begin to the vacation season, however there’s cause to consider that SMBs should not wait that lengthy to change into vacation mode. Client need to help small companies stays fixed all year long, so planning forward will help SMBs beat the vacation rush.

• 99 % of customers revisit the identical companies every year to do their vacation procuring
• 92 % of customers who revisit companies in the course of the holidays plan to incorporate SMBs of their procuring plans this yr
• 58 % of U.Ok. customers begin interested by the vacation season earlier than October, in comparison with 38 % of customers globally
• 42 % of SMBs globally wait till no less than October to start out prepping for the vacations
• 30 % of SMBs in Australia haven’t began their vacation advertising and marketing by November
• 57 % of SMBs start to extend the frequency of their advertising and marketing communications within the final three months of the yr

Small advertising and marketing tweaks will help SMBs appeal to customers and keep away from final season’s errors

Small companies acknowledged that the most important vacation mistake they made in 2023 was attempting to do too many issues without delay with their advertising and marketing. This yr, SMBs are aiming for improved effectivity and measurable outcomes as they attempt to capitalize on shopper intent and insulate themselves from financial uncertainty.

• The highest three issues SMBs are doing to have a profitable vacation season are enhancing their effectivity (35 %), providing particular promotions or reductions (28 %) and creating an end-of-year advertising and marketing technique (26 %)
• Canadian small companies are considerably extra doubtless than different areas to check new advertising and marketing instruments or know-how in preparation for a profitable end-of-year
• Small companies in Australia are more likely to start out ordering stock sooner than traditional
• 78 % of customers plan to vacation store at a small enterprise they’ve by no means bought from earlier than
• 51 % of SMBs consider social media advertising and marketing and e mail advertising and marketing have the most important affect on their vacation objectives

To be taught extra concerning the findings from Fixed Contact’s Small Enterprise Now, download the report.

Research Methodology:
Constant Contact‘s Small Enterprise Now report analyzes insights from over 1,600 small enterprise decision-makers employed at firms with 250 workers or much less. The research was performed in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA, and outcomes have been aggregated to find out world developments. All stats are consultant of their related demographics. It additionally combines information from over 3,000 customers aged 18+ in every of those areas. The survey was performed by Ascend2 Research in August 2024.

About Fixed Contact
Constant Contact makes digital advertising and marketing straightforward and efficient for small companies and nonprofits around the globe. Whether or not simply beginning out, or managing complicated multi-channel campaigns, SMBs profit from our highly effective SaaS platform that delivers a simplified advertising and marketing expertise with much less time spent and higher outcomes. With cutting-edge know-how, best-in-class deliverability and award-winning buyer help, we assist the small stand tall.

SOURCE Fixed Contact