Everyone wants a crystal ball to see into the future to help make business decisions. Even though those don’t exist; thankfully, we have real data-driven insights to help us anticipate what to watch out for.
Last month, Authorize.net held an exclusive webinar with Bruce Cundiff, Visa’s Vice President of Business and Economic Insights. In part two of this blog series, we dissect three more insights from the webinar that can help fuel your business growth. If you missed the first three, please visit our previous post.
4. Women continue to have extensive influence over the economy
Understanding who is purchasing your product is important to any small business. By looking at recent data, we see that women make up $6.4 trillion dollars in annual spending, with 83% of all household purchase decisions being driven by women.1
Think about how you are selling your product now. Could you be more inclusive to both genders in your marketing and sales? It’s important to understand your customer and make sure your offers are both comprehensive and applicable to your buying audience.
5. Cryptocurrency remains a “bright shiny object”
Over the last few years, you may have found yourself in conversations with friends or family about cryptocurrency. In a recent study, Visa economists found that most individuals were aware of cryptocurrency and had a brief understanding of it. But when asked if they used cryptocurrency to purchase goods or used as an investment, the majority of individuals didn’t use cryptocurrency at all.1
What does this mean for your small business? In short, immediate usage or solutions of cryptocurrency in any capacity is very limited and primarily targeted towards Generation Z consumers.1 Consider learning more and keeping an eye on cryptocurrency over the next few years.
6. Small businesses hiring again comes with implications
Recent data indicates that small businesses are starting to hire again. With increased hiring and employment expansion, comes staffing shortages. Over 60% of small businesses are facing staffing shortages.1
So, what are small businesses doing to attract applicants for open positions? The number one way that the majority of businesses are combatting staffing shortages—increased wages.1 Here are the other four ways that small businesses have reported to attract new help to their job postings.
- Offered or enhanced health insurance benefits
- Offered or enhanced referral bonuses
- Increased paid time off
- Offered or enhanced hiring bonuses
Turning learnings into practice
Which of these insights can help your business grow? Can you make any changes now to help prepare for the future?
To learn more about all the insights Bruce shared, you can watch the on-demand webinar.
1 Economic Insights for Small Businesses Webinar, November 10, 2021