According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study, inflation has stressed customer satisfaction among small business credit card holders. For the second consecutive year, American Express ranks the highest in overall customer satisfaction, followed by Chase. Here are the study’s key findings.
Inflation Weakens Small Business Credit Card Customer Satisfaction
J.D. Power finds inflation has put a strain on business credit card overall customer satisfaction. In fact, 65% of small business owners say inflation has had a major or severe effect on their business, while 51% currently struggle with supply chain challenges. As a result, credit card issuers face a new set of challenges. They must find creative ways to support small businesses in the current economic state.
Study Findings
The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study has five significant findings. For starters, they found that overall customer satisfaction falls flat because of the hold inflation has on business outlook. Overall satisfaction among small business credit card customers is down one point in comparison to the findings of the previous year. The 2022 findings received 851 points ranked on a 1,000 points scale. Most importantly, 65% of small business owners say inflation has had a severe or significant effect on their business.
Next, the 2022 study found inflation hurts all-important rewards value. There is a significantly lower reward satisfaction among small businesses. The cardholders affected by inflation also claim a significantly lower satisfaction rate for the rewards earned per dollar. Additionally, small businesses are also unsatisfied with the ability to completely maximize rewards with their most frequent purchases.
Furthermore, the study reveals spending among business credit card customers decreases while their revolving debt increases. Only 25% of business owners plan to increase business-related spending in the next 12 months, which is down from 29% the previous year. In the 2021 study, 50% of business owners planned on spending more than $5,000 per month. In comparison, the 2022 study is down by 4%, with 46% of business owners planning to spend over $5K. On the other hand, the percentage of small businesses that have revolving debt has grown to 44% from 39% in 2021.
The study also pointed out some travel findings. According to the study, airline reward cards continue to rebound while co-branded retail cards decline. The customer satisfaction scores for co-branded retail cards have declined by 37 points in the past four years. In contrast, customer satisfaction with airline reward cards has increased by 12 points in the same timeframe.
Lastly, the study found that proactive account management drives increased customer satisfaction. When small business owners are assigned a dedicated account manager by their credit card issuer, the study found customer satisfaction increased by a significant 35 points. There is a 77-point increase in customer satisfaction among business owners who say they are worse off in 2022 than they were in the previous year. Press Release.
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