Poll Finds Nearly Half of Small Businesses Could Fail

The holiday shopping season would normally bring good cheer for business operators. Not so for 48% of small businesses that fear they won't make enough money during the rest of the year to stay afloat, according to the Alignable Revenue Poll. The eye-opening number from Alignable's recent poll indicates small businesses still have a long way to go to reach a post-Covid-19 recovery.

Two months ago Alignable's polls found pessimism among small businesses was at 42%. The increase is likely due to the convergence of several factors including the resurgence of Covid-19, elevated customer fears, and a surge in online shopping. Other findings from the poll include: Some 50% of retailers could close for good and that figure is up from 45% only two months ago.

47% of small business-to-business (B2B) firms are struggling to keep the lights on and might not make it to next year. This is up by nine percentile points from September where the figure was just 38%. Among those hard hit are those in the travel and hospitality sector where 62% say they might not survive in the next three months.

Others who expressed their concerns include owners of gyms (61%), beauty salons (60%), health and wellness shops and spas (46%), restaurants (45%), marketing and advertising agencies (45%), entertainment companies (43%), construction businesses (38%), law offices (36%), and even accounting firms (25%). Those seeking some form of support to weather the storm are shops and services with closure risks of 45% to 62%.