Not every industry is riding the same wave. Some small businesses are facing a squeeze from rising costs, flat demand or both. If yours is one of them, the earlier you see it, the more options you have.
Here are the industries showing the most pressure heading into 2027, why, and practical moves owners in each can make this quarter.
The yardstick: are you keeping up with prices?
Consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to August 2026 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). When a category's sales grow more slowly than its prices, it is selling less in real terms, even if the dollar figure looks fine. That is the main warning sign behind most of this list.
Grocery and specialty food stores
Sales at food and beverage stores rose just 0.5% from August 2025 to August 2026 (Census Bureau), while grocery prices rose 2.2%. That means shoppers bought less. Big chains and online grocery compete hard on price, and independent stores feel it first.
Moves to consider:
- Find the 20% of products that bring in most of your margin and protect them: placement, stock, never out.
- Lean into what chains do badly: local products, prepared foods, service at the counter, delivery to regulars.
- Review shrink and waste weekly. In a thin-margin business, spoilage can be the difference between profit and loss.
Businesses that run on fuel: trucking, delivery and field service
Gasoline prices rose 27.4% and energy prices 16.3% over the year (BLS). For trucking companies, couriers, landscapers, plumbers, HVAC crews and anyone who drives to the job, that hits every day.
Moves to consider:
- Add a fuel surcharge or a trip charge, stated clearly on quotes and invoices. Many customers accept it when it is explained and tied to fuel.
- Group jobs by area to cut miles. Even one fewer trip a day adds up over a month.
- Track fuel as a share of revenue every week. If it climbs, reprice before your margin disappears.
- For trucking, check your broker contracts for fuel adjustment terms, and favor faster-paying loads when cash is tight.
Furniture, home furnishings, and health and personal care stores
Sales at furniture stores and at health and personal care stores each rose 1.9% over the year, about half the rate of inflation. Big-ticket home purchases slow when budgets tighten, and pharmacy and beauty retail face heavy online and big-box competition.
Moves to consider:
- Push services and add-ons that online sellers can't match: delivery and setup, design help, fittings, consultations.
- Reduce slow-moving inventory now rather than carrying it through a soft year.
- Offer layaway or clear payment options for larger purchases, with the full cost stated plainly.
Hotels, motels and lodging
Real-time data shows visits to lodging down sharply from a year ago, with spending falling faster than in the other consumer categories we looked at. Higher fuel prices and tighter household budgets cut into travel.
Moves to consider:
- Court guests who travel for work or for need, not just leisure: crews on job sites, medical visits, sports teams.
- Review every online booking platform's fees against the bookings it brings. Direct bookings keep more of each stay.
- Shift staffing to match occupancy week by week, not by habit.
Also worth watching: new store and restaurant openings
Applications to start new retail businesses fell 26% from July to August 2026, and new restaurant and lodging applications fell 10.6% (Census Business Formation Statistics). One month is noisy, but if it holds, it means less new competition for existing shops.
If your industry is on this list
Being in a pressured industry is not a verdict on your business. Plenty of owners outperform a soft market. A few steps help in any of these situations:
- Run a 13-week cash flow forecast. See trouble weeks before they arrive.
- Reprice deliberately. Know your margin on your best sellers and adjust before costs force your hand.
- Cut costs that don't touch the customer before cutting ones that do.
- Get help early. If you need funding, compare total cost and terms carefully, and talk to your accountant first. Borrowing to cover a permanent loss only delays the problem.
A Full Port Financial advisor can talk through options with you at no cost to you, including whether funding makes sense at all right now.
Where these numbers come from
Sales, inflation and new-business figures come from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, linked where cited. The lodging visit and spending trends are our own reading of data from Carbon Arc, described in our words rather than reproduced.
The short version
- Sales that grow more slowly than prices mean a real decline; prices rose 3.4% in the year to August 2026.
- Grocery, fuel-heavy businesses, furniture and health stores, and lodging show the most pressure.
- Fuel surcharges, tighter routes, protecting your best-margin items and selling services online sellers can't match all help.
- New retail and restaurant openings slowed sharply in August, which may ease competition if it lasts.
- Forecast your cash, reprice on purpose, and get advice before borrowing.