Poll: two-thirds of small businesses fear inflation will hurt recovery

Two out of three (67 percent) small-business owners say they’re concerned about inflation hurting their ability to recover and 38 percent are “highly concerned,” according to the recently released Alignable Inflation Poll.

The poll was conducted among 7,735 small-business owners from April 24 to May 5, 2021.

The release reporting the poll findings stated, “…for the first time in the past year, the No. 1 concern listed among small business owners is the rising cost of supplies. This fear trumped worries about running out of cash reserves, and even concerns about customers being too afraid to return.”

Concerns about inflation were highest among small-business owners in the manufacturing sector, with 83 percent expressing worry. The release stated, “…The majority of manufacturers taking the poll reported challenges with increased trucking expenses and difficulty in accessing some of the raw materials they need to create products. This, of course, results in scarcity and will force them to boost prices, which will affect anyone who needs their products from retailers to restaurants, and home builders to real estate agents.”

Beyond manufacturing, the industries expressing the highest levels of concern about inflation were electricians (80 percent), construction (79 percent), and restaurants (77 percent).

Additional poll findings include the following:

• 80 percent of poll respondents say the cost of supplies has risen above pre-COVID levels

• 59 percent are having difficulty acquiring inventory or supplies

• 50 percent of respondents with employees are having trouble finding new ones to fill vacancies

• 51 percent identify a labor shortage, saying employees require higher salaries or hourly rates than they did before COVID

• Despite increased costs, slightly fewer than half (48 percent) say they are charging higher prices to cover their rising expenses

Alignable is an online referral network for small businesses with more than 6 million members in North America. The organization established a research center in early March 2020, “to track and report the impact of the coronavirus on small businesses, and to monitor recovery efforts, informing the media, policymakers, and our members.”

Further details about the poll findings are available at: https://www.alignable.com/forum/alignable-67-fear-inflation-will-hurt-their-business-recovery?utm_campaign=May&utm_medium=Press&utm_source=Press