Small businesses turn to digital tools this holiday season

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Small and midsize businesses are looking for guidance and investing in new technologies to help them overcome challenges such as supply chain and inflation as the holidays approach, according to Verizon’s third annual State of Small Business Survey.

“The need for small and midsize businesses to accelerate with the right technology tools has never been greater,” Aparna Khurjekar, CRO of Business Markets and SaaS, Verizon Business. “These findings are in line with what we are hearing from our customers every day. They are seeing the value of technology to drive revenue, improve operational efficiencies and scale their businesses to drive holiday sales success.”

Key survey findings:

• A digital-first holiday season: Technology is playing an important role in the ongoing success of many small and midsize business decision makers, with 36% saying most of their sales during the 2021 holiday season were digital and a similar proportion (34%) this year stating they’re preparing for a digital-first holiday season.

• Supply chain issues can dampen holiday sales: Overall, the survey shows 44% of small and midsize business decision makers believe supply chain issues could dampen holiday sales. Those working in retail are most worried about economic issues, while supply chain issues dominate concerns among restaurant and bar owners.

• Technology driving the future of customer experiences: Overall, 61% say they’ve implemented digital tools and technologies over the past two years to change their processes and improve customer experiences.

• Economic concerns persist: Almost 2 in 5 respondents (38%) are worried about properly pricing goods/services to keep up with inflation, and one in three (35%) are worried about economic hardships and inflation impacting their sales.

• Education and access to information: Education and access to information is important, with more than 2 in 5 saying their business could benefit from outside guidance about how to succeed this holiday season (43%).

Assisting Small Businesses with Learning Resources and Financial Assistance

Beyond their technology and services, Verizon provides valuable assistance for small businesses to help them strategize and navigate business critical moments. This includes access to Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, a free, comprehensive online curriculum focused on helping small businesses with digital transformation. The portal was created with and for small businesses, with a specific focus on helping diverse and under-resourced business owners. It offers personalized learning through 30+ courses, mentorship, peer networking, 1:1 expert coaching and incentives. Small businesses can sign up at www.verizon.com/smallbusinessdigitalready. This initiative is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1M small businesses by 2030 with the resources to thrive in the digital economy as part of its responsible business plan, Citizen Verizon.

Additionally, to help small businesses in Southwest Florida recover amid Hurricane Ian, Verizon recently announced a $250,000 donation to Collaboratory, a local non-profit community solving organization in Southwest Florida, and Florida TaxWatch, a non-profit organization that promotes economic development across the state.

Small Business Days Nov 10-23

Verizon is also bringing back Small Business Days now through November 23rd, with special offers for small and midsize businesses, as well as a complimentary tech evaluation by a Verizon Business expert to identify technical solutions to grow your business.

The Verizon Business State of Small Business survey was conducted by Morning Consult between August 12-19, 2022 among a national sample of 609 small to midsize business owners and decision makers through online interviews.