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Alignable’s fourth quarter revenue report shows 58% of Illinois
small businesses don’t think they will make as much money as
they did this time last year. That is the third-highest
percentage in the country behind only Florida (68%) and Maryland
(59%).
Head Researcher Chuck Casto said high interest rates continue to
take a toll, with 55% of small businesses saying 19 months of
climbing interest rates have cut into their margins and
revenues.
“All of the other issues they’ve been having in terms of hiring,
in terms of labor shortage, in terms of other economic issues,
including inflation,” said Casto.
The top three industries expecting lower earnings to finish the
year include travel & lodging, transportation, and real estate.
Casto said 45% of main street retailers said they have seen a
drop in consumer spending over the past couple months, and some
believe big box stores and national online retailers are partly
to blame. Only 12% of small business owners said they’ve
experienced a major surge in income over the past couple months,
contributing to the less than optimal forecast.
Casto said the consumer has the power to make a difference.
“Shoppers just really need to hit their retail establishments,
the local ones and the locally-owned stores and try to turn this
around,” said Casto.
With 55% of small businesses saying 19 months of climbing
interest rates have cut into their margins and revenues.
The findings are based on responses from 6,156 randomly selected
small business owners surveyed from 9/2/23 to 11/5/23, as well
as historical data from another 44,000+ respondents.
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