As holidays near, AmEx keeps eye on small retailers

American Express Co. is largely viewed as an upscale charge card company, but it’s increasingly on the pulse of what’s going on with small business.

With the holidays approaching, AmEx will focus on small merchants who’ll take in billions of dollars in sales charged on American Express cards. Susan Sobbott, who heads the company’s small business operation, American Express Open, says that based on what she’s seeing, the holidays may not be the most robust for small retailers, but stores should show sales gains compared with last year.

AmEx keeps tabs on how optimistic small businesses are. A survey in September showed that 62 percent of retailers had a positive view of the economy, compared to 56 percent of small businesses overall. Half the retailers surveyed expected their revenue to rise over the next six months, compared to 43 percent of all businesses. Read more.