U.S. small businesses ring in election, holiday seasons with good cheer

• Newest Chase survey “Business Leaders Outlook” reveals optimism for
  businesses and industry, but caution about overall economy
• Hispanic owners use more technology, expect sales and profits to
  increase

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Despite the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election and the
holiday shopping season, most small business owners are optimistic about
their companies’ prospects, according to the inaugural 2016
Fall/Winter Chase Business Leaders Outlook report released today.

About two-thirds of the nearly 900 small business owners surveyed said
they are optimistic about their business over the next 12 months, and
55% felt the same way about their industry. However, only 49% were
optimistic about their local economy and 42% about the national economy.
Both of those have dropped in each of the past two surveys.

Hispanic business owners appear to be even more optimistic, with 87%
expecting revenue and sales to rise and 81% expect profits to rise in
the next 12 months.

“Most small business owners are still bullish about their own growth,
just as they were in our spring survey,” said Laura Miller, president of
U.S. Small Business for Chase Commerce Solutions. “With the holidays
approaching, most predict increases in online sales, and almost half
predict their customers will spend more this year.”

Small Businesses Survey Highlights

• Holiday spending
  59% of small businesses expect more
  holiday online shopping purchases this holiday season over last year.
  Additionally:
  • 46% expect an increase in customer spending
  • 40% expect the shopping season to start earlier
  • 33% plan to keep longer hours

  What businesses expect near and far
  		Fall 2016		Spring 2016		Spring 2015
  Local Economy		49% optimistic		53%		55%
  National Economy		42%		43%		47%
  Global Economy		30%		27%		26%

  • Financing and lending
    59% plan to borrow this year, up
    from 52% in 2015. Of those obtaining financing, the top choice when
    considering a lender is a tie at 37% planning on turning to
    banks/credit unions/traditional lenders or using business credit
    cards. The top reasons for using the proceeds are:
    • Working capital (18%)
    • Buying and repairing equipment (18%)
    • Marketing (16%)
    • Purchasing inventory (13%)
    • Software and technology (13%)
    • Remodeling (12%)
    • Expansions (11%)
    • Refinancing (11%)
    • 42% plan to increase full-time employees and 63% plan to increase
      part-time employees
    • 32% are minority supplier certified and many see these outside
      relationships delivering the most value for their business:
      • 45% find value in networking organizations
      • 37% say banking experts add value to their business
      • 26% say trade and industry associations add value to their
        business

      To download a copy of the fall/winter small business edition of 2016
      Chase Business Leaders Outlook survey, visit chase.com/2016businessleadersoutlook.
      To access additional business resources, visit chase.com/forbusiness.

      Methodology

      The fall/winter small business edition of the 2016 Business Leaders
      Outlook survey was conducted from August to September. A total of 896
      from small businesses (annual revenue between $100,000 and $20 million)
      responded to an online survey. The results of the survey are within
      statistical parameters for validity, and the error rate is plus or minus
      2.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval.

      About Chase

      Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan
      Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with
      assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly
      half of America’s households and four million small businesses with a
      broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit
      cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business
      loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they
      want to bank: more than 5,300 branches, 15,500 ATMs, mobile, online and
      by phone. For more information, go to www.chase.com.

      Contacts

      Chase
      Ashley Frost, 212-270-7077
      ashley.c.frost@jpmorgan.com
      or
      Edward
      Kozmor, 609-841-5765
      edward.kozmor@chase.com