Three in five small businesses say rising prices have forced them to seek out more capital

Washington, DC, March 29, 2023 — This quarter of the Ipsos/MetLife/U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index reads at 60.0, marking a slight decline since last quarter (62.1). Worsening perceptions of the U.S. economy are largely responsible for the change in the index this quarter. Otherwise, many of the operational and future expectation index questions remain stable compared to last quarter, with most small business owners feeling good day-to-day about their current business health and cash flow amidst broader macroeconomic concerns.

As perceptions of the U.S. economy decline, concerns over inflation persist. More than half of small business owners continue to cite it as their top concern. Perhaps contributing to these concerns is the perceived impact of macroeconomic conditions, such as rising prices and interest rates, affecting small business owners’ procurement of capital.

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About the Study

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 16-Februrary 2, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 752 small business owners and operators age 18+ from the continental U.S. Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed online in English.

The sample was randomly drawn from partner online panel sources that specialize in B2B sample and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to the study, in drawing sample. Small businesses are defined in this study as companies with 500 or fewer employees that are not sole proprietorships. This sample calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. small business population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2019 Statistics of U.S. Businesses dataset. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on firmographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on region, industry sector and size of business. Additional post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on the gender of the business’s owner and whether the business is minority-owned or not.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=752, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.9 percentage points).

Starting with the March 2020 survey, small business decision makers are reached via an online survey, in place of the typical phone-based approach. This methodological shift is in response to lower anticipated response rates in dialing owners at their businesses as a result of mandated closures related to the COVID-19 outbreak. While significant changes in data points can largely be attributed to the recent economic environment, switching from a phone to online approach may have also generated a mode effect.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall

Vice President, US

Public Affairs

+1 202 374 2613

[email protected]

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