Biz2Credit’s Annual Small Business Industry Study Finds Wholesale Industry Leads Other Sectors in Most Financial Measures


NEW YORK, Dec. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biz2Credit’s 2023 Top Small Business Industries Report released on Tuesday, December 5, identified Wholesale Trade as the top industry for small business. The study found that wholesalers had both the highest average annual revenue and highest small business loan average funded amount.

In other sectors, Health Care & Social Assistance had the highest funding approval rate, and Information Technology (IT) led in highest credit score. The Manufacturing sector had the longest established businesses, while Transportation & Warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses.

“Wholesale Trade had a very good year in 2022 as pandemic-related supply chain issues dissipated. The industry posted the highest average revenue and the highest average funded amount,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit and one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance, who oversaw the research.

Biz2Credit, a leading online funding provider to small businesses, analyzed the financial performance of over 52,000 applications submitted through the company’s online funding platform from January 1 through December 31, 2022. The six key metrics measured for each industry were: 

  1. Annual Revenue
  2. Approval Rate for Business Loans
  3. Average Funded Amounts
  4. Business Owners’ Credit Scores
  5. Volume of Funding
  6. Age of Business

Key Findings of the study include:

  • Wholesale Trade was the industry with the highest average revenue ($900,076), followed by Manufacturing ($865,000), Information Technology ($791,103), Construction ($720,451), and Accommodation and Food Services ($666,910).
  • Healthcare & Social Assistance and Accommodation & Food Services had the highest approval rate for all financing applications at 37%, followed by Manufacturing (32%), Wholesale Trade (31%), and IT (30%).
  • Wholesale Trade ($108,352) was the sector with the highest average funding amount, followed by Information Technology ($99,586), Retail Trade ($83,934), Manufacturing ($68,803), Accommodation & Food Services ($64,839), and Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services ($64,614).
  • IT business owners had the highest average credit score (669), followed by Manufacturing (665), Real Estate/Rental and Leasing (662), Wholesale Trade (658), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (650), and Finance and Insurance (646). Credit scores generally rose compared to last year's numbers.
  • Retail Trade had the highest volume (24.8%) of funding issued to small businesses, followed by Accommodation and Food Services (15.7%), Construction (12.2%), Health Care and Social Assistance (10.6%), and Other Services (7.3%).
  • Transportation & Warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses (3.1 years), followed by Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation (4.2 years), Other Services except Public Administration (4.3 years), Real Estate/Rental and Leasing (4.5 years), Retail Trade (4.5 years), Accommodation and Food Services (4.5 years), and Wholesale Trade (4.8 years).
  • Manufacturing (7.4 years) was the most established industry on average, followed by Information Technology and Educational Services (6.1 years), Finance & Insurance (6.0 years), Health Care & Social Assistance (5.9 years), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (5.7 years).

Charts

Top 5 Industries: Average Annual Revenue

RankIndustry 2021 2022% Change
1Information Technology$655,785$791,10321%
2Accommodation & Food Services$440,760$664,91151%
3Health Care & Social Assistance$479,251$662,26838%
4Retail Trade$493,953$651,58132%
5Professional, Scientific & Tech Services$395,457$559,86742%

Top 5 Industries: Approval Rates by Industry

RankIndustry2021 2022  
1Accommodation and Food Services35%37% 
2Health Care and Social Assistance35%37% 
3Information Technology36%30% 
4Retail Trade30%30% 
5Professional, Scientific & Tech Service28%29% 

Top Industries: Average Funded Amount

RankTop Industries 2021 2022%
Change 
1Information Technology$72,552$99,58637.3%
2Professional, Scientific & Tech Service$33,844$48,37842.9%
3Retail Trade$67,008$83,93425.3%
4Health Care & Social Assistance$61,708$61,250-0.7%
5Accommodation & Food Services$51,229$64,83926.6%
6Services (except Public Admin)$42,680$38,557-9.7%

Top 5 Industries: Credit Score

RankTop Industries20212022Score
Change
1Information Technology6626698
2Manufacturing6576657
3Real Estate, Rental & Leasing6626620
4Wholesale Trade64265816
5Professional, Scientific & Tech6416509

Top 5 Industries: Volume of Funding

Rank

Industry
2021 2022 
Funding
Volume
%
contribution
Funding
Volume
% contribution
1Retail Trade43,622,00031.30%77,723,00024.80%
2Accommodation and Food
Services
20,235,30014.50%49,278,00015.70%
3Construction8,216,0005.90%37,741,05012.00%
4Health Care and Social
Assistance
16,476,00011.80%33,259,00010.60%
5Other Services (except
Public Administration)
14,426,00010.30%22,787,4007.30%

Top 5 Industries: Age of Business (Most Mature)

 RankIndustryAge of
Business
 
1Manufacturing7.4 years 
2Information Technology6.1 years 
3Educational Services6.1 years 
4Finance and Insurance6.0 years 
5Healthcare & Social Assistance5.9 years 

Top 5 Industries: Age of Business (Youngest)

 RankIndustryAge of
Business
 
1Transportation and Warehousing3.1 years 
2Arts, Entertainment & Recreation4.2 years 
3Other Services (except Public Admin)4.3 years 
4Real Estate Rental & Leasing4.5 years 
5Retail Trade4.5 years 

Government Insights

“Upstate New York small businesses are some of the most creative and scrappy in the country. And they have to be. In New York, overburdensome regulations, high taxes, and the labor shortage make it extremely difficult for small businesses to survive,” said Congressman Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19), who serves on the House Small Businesses Committee. “It shouldn’t have to be this way.”

“We’re so grateful for our small businesses that keep the economy going. It’s a big priority for us to help our small business owners get things done,” said Congressman Greg Landsman (D, OH-01), who is also a member of the House Small Businesses Committee. “We’re building strong coalitions to help them overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities.”

To provide more current insights into the direction small businesses are headed, Biz2Credit also examined additional data from January – June 2023. Six-month findings were:

  • Manufacturing had the highest average revenue ($1,128,641).
  • Health Care & Social Assistance had the highest approval rate (48%).
  • Information Technology had the highest average funded amount ($110,044).
  • Information Technology had the highest average credit score of 670.
  • Retail Trade had the highest volume of funding, contributing 21.4% of the overall funding.
  • Transportation and Warehousing had the highest rate of startups with an average age of 3.5 years. Manufacturing had the most established companies with an average age of 8.0 years.

“Our research also looks at emerging trends happening across small businesses, as we examine the data from January – June 2023. This provides insights into the direction small businesses are heading in moving forward,” said Arora.

To view the Biz2Credit Industry Study results, click here.

Methodology

Biz2Credit, a leading online funding provider to small businesses, analyzed the financial performance of over 52,000 applications submitted through the company’s online funding platform in 2022. This year’s report also provides a look into the performance from January 2023 to June 2023, providing further insights into the successes of small businesses. All companies included in the Biz2Credit study have less than 250 employees and less than $5 million in annual revenues. The report covers small businesses across the country, from start-ups to established companies.  The objective of the study is to identify the top industries for small businesses during the preceding year and to measure the performance of businesses based on their industry affiliation. The report covers industries based on the NAICS classification system.

About Biz2Credit

Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has funded or arranged more than $8 billion in small business financing. The company is expanding its industry leading Biz2X technology in custom digital platform solutions for banks and other financial institutions, investors, and service providers. Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Contact: John Mooney, Over The Moon PR, (908) 720-6057, john@overthemoonpr.com