77 Percent of Small Businesses Surveyed Hurt by Record-Breaking Snowfall

NEW YORK, March 31, 2015 – On Deck Capital, Inc. (NYSE: ONDK), a leading platform for small business loans, today released findings of its latest Main Street pulse report, a quarterly study of small business trends. The report revealed that small businesses across the United States were negatively impacted by the extreme low temperatures and record snowfall this winter.

Key findings of the study included:

  • 77 percent of businesses surveyed were hurt by the severe winter weather – Businesses negatively impacted the most were in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast regions, with 68 percent of them in the Northeast alone.
  • Customer traffic and sales were consistently down – 67 percent of businesses experienced slower than normal customer traffic and nearly half saw a 50 percent decrease in sales.
  • A majority of small businesses were forced to close their doors for up to five days – Nearly 73 percent were closed for up to five days while 14 percent closed their doors for 10 days or more. Of the businesses that remained open, 89 percent responded that they were “not busy at all.”
  • Industries negatively impacted the most were retailers and restaurants – 25 percent were retailers, while 20 percent were restaurants and bars.
  • Small business owners are resilient – Nearly 70 percent have managed through these challenges by modifying hours and service, engaging customers online and catching up on administrative work to identify growth opportunities. Furthermore, 71 percent either used or considered taking out financing to help bridge the weather-related gap.

“At OnDeck, we see time and again that small businesses are masters at being nimble in how they manage their daily operations – especially when they run into the unexpected, such as severe weather,” said Andrea Gellert, chief marketing officer, OnDeck. “This winter has had a clear impact on small businesses across the US, and while taking out financing is one way to get back on track, it’s important for us as consumers to support our local businesses this spring.”

The study is based on data gathered by OnDeck from over 240 small business owners across the United States from a variety of industries.

For more information on OnDeck, please visit www.ondeck.com and to view an infographic of the study, visit www.ondeck.com/winter.

About OnDeck
OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK), a leading platform for small business loans, is committed to increasing Main Street’s access to capital. OnDeck uses advanced lending technology and analytics to assess creditworthiness based on actual operating performance and not solely on personal credit. The OnDeck Score®, the company’s proprietary small business credit scoring system, evaluates thousands of data points to deliver a credit decision rapidly and accurately. Small businesses can apply for a line of credit or term loan online in minutes, get a decision immediately and receive funds in as fast as the same day. OnDeck also partners with small business service providers, enabling them to connect their customers to OnDeck financing. OnDeck’s diversified loan funding strategy enables the company to fund small business loans from various credit facilities, securitization and the OnDeck Marketplace®, a platform that enables institutional investors to purchase small business loans originated by OnDeck.

Since 2007, OnDeck has deployed more than $1.7 billion to more than 700 different industries in all 50 U.S. states, and also makes small business loans in Canada. The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and operates the website BusinessLoans.com which provides credit education and information about small business financing. On December 17, 2014, OnDeck started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ONDK.

For more information, please visit http://www.ondeck.com and follow OnDeck on Twitter @OnDeckCapital.

SOURCE: On Deck Capital, Inc.

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