NEW YORK, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services Corp., (NASDAQ: NEWT) (www.thesba.com) The Small Business Authority®, with a portfolio of over 100,000 business accounts, announced today the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of over 950 respondents, the key finding from the November survey is 71% of business owners expected their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to be unchanged from a year prior.
The November 2014 poll results, compared to the November 2013 and 2012 poll results, showed the following:
|
Poll Question
|
Poll Answer
|
2014
Percentage
|
2013
Percentage
|
2012
Percentage
|
|
Do you expect your
sales on this year's
Black Friday and
Cyber Monday to be:
|
Down 4% or more
from prior year
|
7%
|
7%
|
15%
|
|
Unchanged from
prior year
|
71%
|
70%
|
60%
|
|
Up 4% or more
from prior year
|
22%
|
23%
|
25%
|
Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority® commented, "While the majority of business owners expected their 2014 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to be unchanged from a year prior, the reality is that Newtek's own same store merchant processing volumes were up 8.89% on Black Friday and 0.54% on Cyber Monday year over year. We see a national trend of Black Friday sales being diluted as consumers now start their shopping on Thanksgiving Day; however, this trend occurs more often in bigger retail stores and not in the smaller businesses to which we cater. Our clients did not experience robust year-over-year growth on Cyber Monday. The overlying
trend is retailers underestimated the strength of consumer spending which we propose was higher than expected due to the drop in gasoline prices."
About Newtek Business Services Corp.
Newtek Business Services Corp., The Small Business Authority®, is the Authority for the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market providing a wide range of business services and financial products under the Newtek® brand. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to over 100,000 business accounts across all 50 States to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.
Newtek's products and services include: The Newtek Advantage™, Electronic Payment Processing, The Secure Gateway, Managed Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing), eCommerce, Business Lending, Insurance Services, Web Services, Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval, Accounts Receivable Financing and Payroll.
The Small Business Authority® is a registered trade mark of Newtek Business Services Corp., and neither are a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release including statements regarding Newtek's beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, intensified competition, operating problems and their impact on revenues and profit margins, anticipated future business strategies and financial performance, anticipated future number of customers, business prospects, legislative developments and similar
matters. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions, which could cause Newtek's actual results to differ from management's current expectations, are contained in Newtek's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through http://www.sec.gov.
Newtek Business Services Corp.
http://www.thesba.com
Contact: Simrita Singh
Telephone: (212) 356-9566 / ssingh@thesba.com
Investor Relations
Contact: Jayne Cavuoto
Telephone: (212) 273-8179 / jcavuoto@thesba.com
Contact: Brett Maas
Telephone: (646) 536-7331 / brett@haydenir.com
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SOURCE Newtek Business Services Corp.
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