Small Business Owners' Sales Show 'Recovery' in Q4 Last Year

Impact of Chuseok and Year-End Season
Sales Increase Compared to Previous Year and Previous Quarter

In the fourth quarter of last year, small business sales showed signs of recovery compared to the previous year and the previous quarter.

On the 14th, Korea Credit Data (KCD) released the "Korea Credit Data Trend Report (Q4 2023)," summarizing the business conditions of small businesses nationwide in the fourth quarter of last year. This report was prepared by extracting and processing data from 160,000 business sites out of 1.3 million nationwide that use KCD's management service, Cash Note.

Sales trends by industry classification for small business owners. The horizontal axis represents the increase or decrease in sales compared to the previous quarter, and the vertical axis represents the increase or decrease in sales compared to the same period last year. Industries located toward the upper right are those with continuously improving economic conditions.

The survey results showed that the average sales of small businesses in the fourth quarter were 51.52 million KRW, a 2.5% increase compared to 50.24 million KRW in the same period last year. It is estimated that small business sales increased as COVID-19 restrictions eased and outdoor activities and gatherings increased. In particular, operating profit per business site was 9.67 million KRW, up 45.7% from the previous year and 46.6% from the previous quarter.

The increase factors include the Chuseok holiday, the COVID-19 endemic, and the year-end gathering season. The specialized distribution and accommodation sectors showed a clear increase in sales. Specialized distribution increased by 27% year-on-year and 39% quarter-on-quarter. The accommodation sector also increased by 34% and 20%, respectively. In addition, personal services, education, and arts, sports, and leisure sectors also showed growth.

The business sites selected for this data extraction were chosen based on the small business survey criteria of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Some industries, such as manufacturing, which do not fit the target users of the Cash Note service, were excluded. The Korea Credit Data Small Business Trend Report is scheduled to be released shortly after each quarter in the future.