HandiFox, an inventory management software provider for small businesses, released its 2026 Small Business Outlook, a snapshot of 50 surveyed small businesses across wholesale, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and e-commerce.
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Despite cost and tariff pressure, 70% of surveyed small businesses expect to grow in 2026, according to the HandiFox 2026 Small Business Outlook survey
The survey found that 70% of respondents expect their business to grow in 2026, even as they prepare for cost pressure, trade uncertainty, and operational strain. Among the top expected challenges, 52% cited rising costs or inflation, 44% cited tariffs or changes to trade policy, and 34% cited managing inventory effectively.
The findings suggest that small businesses are not pulling back from growth, but becoming more disciplined as they pursue it.
Inventory remains a clear operational pressure point. 42% of respondents said time spent on inventory tasks is a top pain point, while 36% cited manual data entry errors and 32% cited barcode or scanning challenges. Many businesses still rely on manual workflows: 46% use manual stock checks to decide when to reorder, and 44% reorder only when stock runs low.
Technology is playing a bigger role in how SMBs plan to navigate 2026. More than 81% of respondents said technology will be important or critical to their ability to grow or stabilize this year.
At the same time, small businesses want software that is easier to adopt, not just more powerful. The biggest barriers to adopting new technology were the learning curve (56%), setup time (52%), cost (37%), and data migration (35%).
Interest in AI is growing, though respondents clearly favor human oversight. 53% said they trust AI recommendations with human approval, while 24% would use AI for insights only. Just 6% said they would trust full automation.
“What we’re seeing is anything but blind optimism. It’s resilience,” said Nikita Shchemelev, Head of Product at HandiFox. “Small businesses still plan to grow, but they want tools that reduce manual work, improve visibility, and support better decisions without adding complexity. We work with customers across a wide range of comfort levels with technology, so we understand why ease of adoption matters.”
About HandiFox
HandiFox helps small businesses automate inventory control, improve visibility, reduce manual work, and simplify operations across inventory, purchasing, and fulfillment.
For more information, visit www.handifox.com
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