Small-business owners are optimistic about holiday sales this year, according to the OPEN Holiday Growth Pulse. In fact, the majority say they will be the same (55 percent) or better (37 percent) than last year.

Retail small businesses are particularly bullish and place greater weight on the holiday season for their future growth. Fifty-four percent feel their potential for business growth in 2016 will be contingent on a successful holiday season.

The number of small businesses stating that growth is the top priority for their business has grown since August (79 percent, up from 72 percent) and risen even more among retailers (86 percent, up from 74 percent). The biggest concern that small business owners reported about growing their businesses during the holidays is balancing their holiday needs with long-range growth plans (19 percent). The chief concerns specifically for retailers involve maintaining appropriate inventory levels (24 percent) and facing pressure to discount or offer costly promotions (21 percent).

Janey Whiteside, senior vice president and general manager of customer marketing and relationship management at American Express OPEN, commented on the study’s findings.

“Many small retailers have a positive outlook on the upcoming holiday season and see it as an opportunity for growth in 2016,” said Whiteside. “As a majority of small-business owners see growth as their top priority, we are proud to support their efforts to make this holiday season a success.”

Many small business owners will be rewarding employees this holiday season. Roughly half (53 percent) plan to host a holiday party while 42 percent plan to give gifts. For those planning to host a holiday party, the average amount they expect to spend is $2,100. Sixty-nine percent say this amount is similar to what they spent last year and 22 percent say they will spend more than last year (while only 9 percent plan to spend less).

When it comes to bonuses, 50 percent of small business owners indicate that their employees can expect something equivalent to “a small stocking stuffer” (less than 5 percent of annual salary), 23 percent expect to give a gift “too large to fit in the stocking” (5 to 15 percent of salary) and 22 percent say their employees should expect “a lump of coal” (no bonus at all). Only 5 percent will give staff the “gift of their dreams” (more than 15 percent of their salary).

Comparing the bonuses they will give this year to last year, 42 percent say they will be giving larger employee bonuses this holiday season while slightly fewer (40 percent) say they will not.

Despite high expectations for holiday sales, the majority (72 percent) of small-business owners do not plan to hire additional staff for the holiday season. Across all industries, among those that do plan to hire additional staff, 60 percent plan to keep new hires on the payroll for only one to three months. Only 11 percent of small-business owners plan to retain temporary holiday employees for more than six months.

A majority of small-business owners also plan to show their appreciation to their clients and customers. More than two-thirds (69 percent) will spend money on holiday gifts for clients or customers this holiday season. Compared to last year, 67 percent plan to spend the same amount this year and 24 percent plan to spend more. On average, they will spend a total of $5,370.

Small-business owners will measure success this holiday season in several ways. About half (50 percent) of small-business owners consider adding new customers to be their most important success metric, followed closely by reaching a specific sales goal (46 percent). Among those small-business owners who will require additional funding this holiday season to meet their goals, the amount they will need equates to roughly 15 percent of their average monthly expenditures.

When considering the different marketing tools that small-business owners can leverage this holiday season, 40 percent plan to use social media, 30 percent plan to use e-blasts while only 14 percent will use TV and radio advertising.

Conducted by American Express and Ebiquity, the OPEN Holiday Growth Pulse is a survey of 1,000 small businesses with $250,000 or more in annual revenues.

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