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Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 12/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
The State of Small Business
Bankruptcies among America's more than 25 million small businesses increased by 44 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the third quarter of 2008, according to Equifax Inc.
Some 45 percent of respondents said their businesses are not profitable in a survey by management consulting firm George S. May International. Sixty percent blamed the economy: 29 percent, competition; 10 percent, inefficiencies in sales, finance, operations or labor; and one percent management. Some 65 percent said their business is worse than in 2008.
Also according to May, 58 percent of small businesses have not had a formal business valuation in the last year and don't plan to have one in future, despite the fact that 43 percent plan to sell their business within the next 10 years. Some 22 percent plan to sell later than 10 years, and 35 percent don't plan on ever selling their business.
According to the Small Business Sentiment Survey commissioned by Angrisani Turnarounds LLC and conducted by Toluna Research, 65 percent of respondents were concerned that their businesses would fail in 2010 or 2011; 54 percent said rising employee expenses, including health care expenses and increased minimum wage, constitute the biggest risk to their businesses; 37 percent said increases in federal, state and local taxes, and 27 percent chose lack of credit availability. Fifty-two percent were not at all likely to hire new employees within the next two months; 20.4 percent said they were likely to hire.
The Right Thing, At the Right Price
The 2009 Green Home Furnishings Consumer study, conducted by the Sustainable Furnishings Council and sponsored by World Market Center Las Vegas, found that more than 80 percent of consumers are interested in purchasing sustainable home furnishings, so long as they like the style and it costs about the same. However, 50 percent automatically assume that a green product will cost more.
Globally shoppers are even more concerned with conscientious choices. According to the 2009 Global Edelman Goodpurpose Study, 61 percent purchased a brand that supports a good cause, even if it wasn't the cheapest. Sixty-four percent would recommend a brand that supports a good cause, up from 52 percent last year; in the U.S., that number rose from 47 percent in 2008 to 63 percent this year.
Globally, 59 percent would help a brand promote its products if there was a good cause behind it, up from 53 percent last year. Some 57 percent say a company or brand has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes; 67 percent would switch brands if another brand of similar quality supported a good cause. Some 83 percent are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, and 63 percent are looking to brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference.
In America, those numbers are even higher: 85 percent are willing to change consumption habits and 65 percent are looking to companies and brands to make it easier. Some 44 percent are aware of brands that actively support good causes through their products and services, up from 33 percent last year, and 59 percent have a better opinion of corporations that integrate good causes into their business no matter why they do so.
Did You Know?
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31 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS PLAN THEIR SHOPPING TO TRY TO GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED IN ONE TRIP, COMPARED TO 22 PERCENT WHO TRY TO SPEND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY, FINDS M/A/R/C RESEARCH.
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34 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ARE USING DEBIT CARDS MORE THAN THEY DID A YEAR AGO, REPORTS SYNOVATE.
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91 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO SHOP AT STORES THAT ACCEPT CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS THAN THOSE THAT ACCEPT ONLY CASH OR CHECKS, REPORTS VISA.
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56 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SAY HOLIDAY GIFT SHOPPING CAUSES THEM STRESS ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY BY WATERFORD CRYSTAL.
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