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Accounting

Most Business Owners Expecting Zero Growth On Black Friday

The holidays are such a major revenue stream for most retailers that the very term that has become synonymous with the biggest shopping day of the year, "Black Friday," comes from the financial aspect of being "in the black." In short, many small businesses look at holiday sales as a make-or-break factor in their success.

The holidays are such a major revenue stream for most retailers that the very term that has become synonymous with the biggest shopping day of the year, “Black Friday,” comes from the financial aspect of being “in the black.” In short, many small businesses look at holiday sales as a make-or-break factor in their success.

While sales should still be relatively strong this year, many analysts are expecting little growth. A new survey of business owners shows they have the same expectations when it comes to their projected revenue for the upcoming holiday season compared to last year.

The latest monthly SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey from Newtek showed that 70% of business owners believe their sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday will remain unchanged from last year. Of the remaining, 23% believe their sales will be up 4% or more from last year and 7% believe their sales will be down 4% from last year. The survey included 900 independent business owners.

Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority® commented, “Business owners seem to be stuck in the status quo. We have been in a low- to no-growth environment for so long that they seem to be caught in the expectation of just coasting along. We will say, however, that retail sales and consumer spending do seem to be the better performing aspects of the economy, albeit at low single digits and should be a greater cause for optimism.”

Newtek Business Services, Inc. is a direct distributor of business services and financial products to the small- and medium-sized business market under the Newtek brand.