Two-thirds of UK small and medium enterprises report their businesses are resilient and prepared to withstand market challenges, according to new research from American Express conducted in partnership with Small Business Saturday UK.
The annual Business Barometer study, which surveyed 1,000 senior decision makers at UK micro, small and medium sized businesses, found 68% of SME leaders believe their operations can weather external pressures.
A similar proportion, 69%, express confidence in their ability to recover from setbacks.
The findings suggest SMEs have adapted to economic pressures in recent years and are now directing investment towards technology solutions to strengthen their operational foundations.
The research indicates businesses are prioritising technology adoption as part of broader resilience strategies that also include cost management and marketing investment.
Technology investment scales with business size
Investment patterns vary significantly across business sizes, with micro businesses (1-9 employees) showing more conservative adoption rates compared to their larger counterparts.
Just over half of micro businesses, 52%, are investing in technology to enhance resilience, whilst this figure rises to 80% among medium-sized businesses with 50-249 employees.
Payment technology emerges as a key focus area, with 23% of SMEs planning to introduce new payment channels including mobile and QR payment systems.
These contactless payment solutions enable businesses to serve customers more efficiently while reducing transaction friction.
Process automation represents another priority, with 23% of respondents planning technology investments to drive operational efficiency. Such systems typically reduce manual workload whilst improving accuracy in business processes.
