Homebase's Holiday Survey Reveals Impact of End of Year Sales on Main Street

New Survey Boosts Confidence in Small Business Teams as Holiday Rush Continues

Homebase, the all-in-one team management app, released results from their latest holiday spending survey from nearly 500 small business owners nationwide on the end-of-year shopping season. Top-level findings from the survey include:

• Early bird gets the… sale? Holiday shopping is starting earlier and earlier, even compared to 2022, according to 40% of respondents, extending the end of year shopping season for small businesses. 
• Small business customers defy the tipping trend. As the conversation around tip prompts continues, customers at small businesses don’t seem fazed as nearly half of small businesses (40.9%) are seeing tipping during the holiday season consistently increase since 2022.
• Shopping small doesn’t mean small ticket items. About half of small business customers spend between $51-249 during the holiday season, with nearly 25% spending more than $500 in one visit.
• Are local restaurants being left out of the holiday cheer? Holiday sales account for up to 20% of total yearly sales for over 25% of small business owners compared to 37% of respondents in food & bev who said holiday sales are only 5-10% of their annual revenue.
• This holiday season will have major implications for their future:  Almost 35% of small businesses say the holidays will have a major impact on their ability to stay in business in 2024.

“Thus far, the holiday surge has given small business owners a confidence boost ahead of the new year,” said Homebase Co-Founder and CEO John Waldmann. “For many small business teams, a strong holiday season is how they can enter the New Year on stable financial footing. Fortunately, our data paints a rosy picture for Main Street for 2023: businesses have seen holiday shopping start earlier in the year, and teams have seen customer tip rates increase from 2022. We’re encouraged by this spending and show of consumer confidence in shopping small for the holidays; it strengthens local business teams and the communities they serve.”

Homebase services over 100,000 small businesses and 2M hourly workers across the U.S., providing the tools they need to serve their customers and local communities better. A national online survey of over 500 self-employed individuals with more than one employee was conducted in November of 2023. About HomebaseGreat businesses are built on great teams. Great teams are built on Homebase. Homebase makes work easier for 100,000+ small (but mighty) businesses with everything they need to manage hourly teams: employee scheduling, time clocks, payroll, team communication, hiring, onboarding, and compliance. Just don’t call us “Human Capital Management.” We’re one do-it-all app built for the busiest businesses, so owners and employees can spend less time on bullsh*t and more time on what matters.