Business
SMBs Turn to AI, Supply Chain Diversification, and New Trade Corridors to Grow Across Borders Despite Headwinds, Global Research by Payoneer Finds
Second Annual SMB Ambitions Barometer by Payoneer Finds Two in Five Growth-Minded SMBs Unprepared for Geopolitical Risks NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Payoneer
About this update from Payoneer Global Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nSecond Annual SMB Ambitions Barometer by Payoneer Finds Two in Five Growth-Minded SMBs Unprepared for Geopolitical Risks\n\n\n NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nPayoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO), the financial technology company empowering the world’s small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to transact, do business, and grow globally, today released its second annual SMB Ambitions Barometer, which surveyed nearly 3,800 SMBs across 15 countries in early 2024 to gauge the factors critical to their growth.\n\n\n“We are seeing unprecedented global growth opportunities for the world's entrepreneurs and small businesses, who are leading a new wave of globalization,” said John Caplan, CEO of Payoneer. “Forty-six percent of SMBs we surveyed are reporting that their customer base is international, up four points from last year. At the same time, SMBs are facing an ever-growing number of macro challenges and are preparing to drive efficiencies by adopting AI technologies, partnering with more vendors, and breaking into new trade corridors.”\n\n\nKey themes emerging from this year’s SMB Ambitions Barometer indicate:\n\n\n- SMBs are turning to AI-powered tools and working with more vendors to support growth ambitions: A majority of surveyed SMBs are planning to use or are currently piloting AI to help with customer service (62%), merchandising (64%), inventory management (62%), content creation (62%), competition analysis (64%), and supply chains (63%). On the supply chain side, SMBs are diversifying their supply chain, working with 29 vendors (including law firms and marketing agencies) on average, up from 21 two years ago, in a proactive response to macro events. Nearly two-thirds believe having a diverse and global vendor network helps protect their business against global disruptions.\n\n\n- SMBs are expanding their customer base by growing into new trade corridors: Two in five SMBs (40%) are prioritizing Europe and Central Asia to grow their customer base over the next five years, up from 33% in 2023. The top reasons respondents are planning to expand into these areas are business/revenue opportunities (45%), meeting customer demand (38%), and regional proximity (37%). This is part of a larger trade diversification trend, where ongoing trade tensions between China and North America have made doing business more complicated.\n\n\n- Going global me...