A late September survey of a universe of over 65,000 small business owners found widespread pessimism over the coming Christmas season, with these business owners placing blame squarely on the Federal Reserve and the Biden Economy.
The survey, a joint project of RedBalloon.work and PublicSq., found that 52% of respondents believe Christmas season economic activity to be “much less than normal,” and another 32% said they expect it to be “somewhat less than average.”
75.3% of respondents also said interest rates “higher for longer” will “hurt my business” and 70.3% said their personal financial situation was “much worse” since Biden took office, with many attributing this to runaway government spending.
“Freedom Economy businesses view the Fed and President Biden as the Grinch who stole Christmas,” Andrew Crapuchettes, RedBalloon CEO, said. “Since we launched our monthly survey, opinion among these business owners has been an accurate indicator of things to come, and their pessimism about the Christmas shopping season should put everyone on notice.”
The Freedom Economy is preparing for a full-scale ‘nightmare before Christmas’ during the fourth quarter. If the Fed doesn’t want to be labeled as the Grinch who stole Christmas this holiday season, then action needs to be taken - and soon.
Methodology:
The September 2023 Freedom Economy Index, a joint project of PublicSq. and RedBalloon, sampled a universe of over 60,000 small businesses from September 25-29, with 1,126 respondents and a 3% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.
Download the full September report here.