Small businesses are heading into the holiday season with mixed signals. Deloitte expects holiday sales to top $1.7 trillion this year, but shoppers are hunting for deals and stretching every dollar. AI could help, but the smallest businesses are falling behind bigger companies in using it. Joining us is Syed Ali, Co-Founder and CEO of Pie. Welcome back to the show.
Thank you for having me back.
From what you are seeing, where are small business owners at right now?
Things are kind of tight. I'm hearing businesses say that either their sales are down or flat. There's this notion of how can I bring in more customers — and expenses are going up too. So it's how can I do more with less. What's top of mind is making sure they're able to bring in more customers because sales are flat.
When money gets tight, marketing is often the first thing cut. Is that what you're seeing?
It's interesting. Marketing gets cut when owners don't see results. If they can see clear attribution — if the marketing is actually working and bringing them customers — then they'll look elsewhere to cut. But yeah, they're looking at what operational expenses they can trim. Is that headcount? Does that mean reducing hours for staffing? They're running tight.
With Black Friday about 60 days out, what should a small business be doing with AI right now?
Making sure you're adequately staffed for when that crazy time comes during the holidays. Also discoverability — how do you make sure shoppers are going to your business, visiting your place? Make sure your business is optimised to be surfaced easily. And make sure you're able to answer phone calls and get people through the door.
A third of small business owners say they cannot fill jobs right now. Is AI helping close that staffing gap?
It's a tough labour market and very competitive when it comes to staffing. The businesses leaning into AI — a great example is our voice agent to pick up phone calls, so they don't miss sales. They're able to augment and supercharge the staff already there and fill in the gaps.
Does AI mean small businesses will hire fewer people?
I actually love this question. Businesses are in the business to grow. If AI can help reduce costs and bring in more customers and they're more profitable, they're going to open up a second location, a third location, and hire more people. If AI can help them manage their business better and make them more profitable, they're not going to hire less. They're actually going to hire more because they're going to keep expanding. Every business is in the business to grow.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you. Totally.
