While inflation is increasing and costs are rising, a recent report finds that those concerns aren’t stopping small businesses from ramping up their marketing investment. The report, released by Constant Contact, also touched on marketing challenges, the channels companies are focusing on, and the right way for businesses to double down on marketing investment despite concerns.
Businesses Ramping Up Marketing Investment in the Face of Inflation
The Constant Contact report, which is based on a survey of over 1,500 small business owners from across the world, found that many companies are facing economic uncertainty head-on and without fear.
Despite rising costs of all kinds, many companies are actually increasing the time, effort, and money that they put into marketing this year. Among the small business owners involved in the survey, 68% of them are planning to spend more on marketing in 2026, and 74% are planning to spend more time on marketing this year, as well.
This shows that brands aren’t going to retreat when times get tough and wait for the dust to settle, but double down on the major growth driver for their business (marketing) to weather the storm and come out in good shape.
Brands are also focusing on the things they’re able to control, as 50% of companies are prioritizing efficiency improvements and 36% are refining or creating their marketing strategies.
That being said, while many businesses are being aggressive in terms of marketing, inflation and rising costs still remain major concerns. In fact, 41% cite these as their top concerns in 2026. Another major issue amongst small business owners is weak consumer spending, as 19% cited that as a top concern.
The Channels That Companies Are Focusing On
The report also touches on the channels that businesses believe in most, which are likely to be some of the largest beneficiaries of these higher marketing budgets. When asked which channels small businesses expected to deliver the most value this year, social media and email marketing came out as the clear top two options.
Social media, both paid ads and posting organically, came in at the top spot for 68% of brands, while email marketing came in second at 41%. In addition to these proven channels, survey respondents are also focusing their attention on AI in 2026.
The report finds that 54% of respondents are already using AI in their business, with another 27% planning to use it this year. As for what they’re using it for, 45% use it to analyze trend data, 44% use it to write emails or other content, and 40% use it to create images.
Some other research finds that AI adoption is even higher than this survey shows. For example, a report by Pattern found that 76% of ecommerce brands are actively investing in AI. In addition to companies using AI, customers are also using it to research products, compare prices, and even complete entire transactions in some cases.
In fact, over 75% of consumers are open to some agentic commerce features, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see this number reach even higher as AI continues to improve and more people begin to trust it to handle more aspects of the shopping journey.
Final Thoughts
Whether you invest in AI as a part of your marketing strategy or stick to tried-and-true investments in your social, search, or email marketing, this year is crucial for brands. Despite the worries around inflation, this report shows that it’s not the time to cower and hide, but to double down and continue to invest in growing your business.
While it remains to be seen whether these investments that most companies are making will pay off, if you play it too cautiously in 2026, you could end up lagging behind your competition that took a risk.
