Poor consumer spending remains a concern for many small and medium businesses, but a new Sensis report has found fewer SMB owners plan to sell or close their business now compared with six months ago.
According to the latest Sensis Business Index, business confidence has fallen two percentage points in the last quarter, but sentiment isn’t as low as it was six months ago.
The report found just three in 10 businesses are worries about prospects for the year ahead, with one in 10 extremely worried. Five in 10 are feeling confident and the remainder are neutral.
“We are also seeing fewer businesses looking to close or sell their business than six months ago,” report author Christena Singh said.
Currently, 11 per cent of small businesses are planning to sell or close, down six percentage points from six months ago. Conversely, almost half of all businesses are still aiming for growth and many are planning strategies to achieve this growth despite negative economic conditions.
This will see 43 percent of SMBs increase their digital presence in 2012, 42 percent introduce new products and services and 34 percent develop a business plan.
Employment confidence fell two percentage points in the quarter, while sales confidence and approval of the Federal Government improved two percentage points. Profitability remained steady for the period.
“Small businesses are also telling us that they feel it is currently difficult to access the finance necessary to invest in their business, and we are seeing this manifest in weak capital expenditure trends,” Singh added.
The report also found small businesses expect weaker trading conditions for the next quarter and the year ahead.