Q2 2011 MerchantCircle Merchant Confidence Index Survey Results

Below are the results of our quarterly Merchant Confidence Index (MCI) survey for Q2 of 2011. The Index is designed to track trends in small business sentiment over time.



This sixth Merchant Confidence Index survey was fielded online, between April 30th and June 6th, 2011, and sent to a random sample of MerchantCircle's member base of over 1.6 million local business owners. There were 4,942 total responses from local business owners across the United States and no incentive was offered to complete the survey.



Merchant Confidence Index tracks track four key questions designed to synopsize the prevailing trends among local business owners.  The overall index score is based upon a standardized five-level Likert scale. 



78.2% of responses from merchants with 1-4 employees

12.5% of responses from merchants with 5-9 employees

7.4% of responses from merchants with 10-49 employees

2.0% of responses from merchants with 50+ employees

State of the U.S. economy

How would you rate today’s economy compared to the past twelve months? (n=4,942)

Expectations for the future revenue

How do you expect your sales revenues to change over the next three months? (n=4,942)

 

Marketing expenditures

How do you expect your marketing/advertising expenditures to change over the next three months? (n=4,170)

Hiring expectations

How do you expect your company’s headcount to change over the next three months? (n=4,942)

Merchant Confidence Index Calculation

Marketing Budget

What is your annual ad/marketing budget? (n=4,170)

Adoption of specific online marketing services

Most effective marketing channels

Select the top THREE most effective marketing or advertising methods your business uses or has used. (n=4,170)

Adoption and repeat usage of Facebook Ads

 Perception of Facebook Ads amongst users.

Adoption and repeat usage of daily deals sites

Perception of Daily Deals sites amongst users

Perception of Facebook Deals and Google Offers

Awareness of group buying sites

How did you find out about the group buying site you used (n=366)?

Tablet adoption

Do you use a tablet device for your business (e.g., iPad)? (n=3,786)

Tablet adoption

Do you use a tablet device for your business (e.g., iPad)? (n=3,786)

Respondent Profiles

Size of business

How many people does your business employ?

Business categories

Which single business category best describes your business?