Small Businesses Gearing Up for a Strong Holiday Shopping Season (Infographic) Eight out of 10 small businesses say they are optimistic about the end-of-year shopping rush, according to a new report.
By Catherine Clifford •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For many small-business owners, the holiday sales season can make or break the year. This year, businesses seem to have faith that Old St. Nick is going to deliver.
Eight out of 10 small-business owners surveyed in a recent poll by financing firm Kabbage say they are optimistic about the upcoming holiday-shopping season, the months of October, November and December. What's more, half of those survey respondents say they are expecting a "much stronger" holiday-shopping season in 2013 than they saw in 2012.
Related: Get Your Gift On With 8 of This Year's Hottest Holiday Novelties
If holiday sales pan out as those owners expect, it will be a bow on top of what has already been a stronger sales year overall. Seventy-six percent of respondents say that they have clocked more sales in the first six months of 2013 than they had by this time last year.
To get ready for the holiday rush, small-business owners are going to need access to capital to staff up and stock inventory. Of the 65 percent of respondents who plan to borrow more money in 2013 than they did last year, two-thirds say they need more cash to ramp up for stronger sales.
Related: How to Make the Most of Your Holiday Downtime
Check out the infographic, below, for additional data from the survey on small-business owner sentiment approaching the holiday shopping season.
Click to Enlarge+
