Stability Benchmarks for Wholesale Trade Businesses
In February 2026, Rightworks surveyed 733 decision-makers from small and medium-sized businesses to find out what it really takes to build stable, resilient infrastructure. Here’s how wholesale trade companies stack up against the broader SMB landscape.
Wholesale trade stability snapshot
Wholesale trade businesses trail the broader SMB landscape in most areas. With an overall stability score of 45%, the industry sits in Stage 1 of the 5 Stages of Business Stability—just below the SMB average of 49%.
Here’s what stands out:
Strength: Cloud comfort
77% are fully in the cloud or comfortable moving there—above the 65% SMB average.
Strength: Electronic payments
85% accept the majority of payments electronically—significantly higher than the 73% SMB average.
At risk: Security
Only 25% have mobile device management compared to 46% of SMBs overall.
Where wholesale trade businesses would like to level up
When asked what would have the biggest impact, three themes emerged.
- Growing revenue without adding headcount (45% vs. 36% for SMBs overall)
- Attracting better clients who value our work (30% vs. 23% for SMBs overall)
- Consolidating software, tools, and subscriptions (29% vs. 17% for SMBs overall)
What’s keeping them up at night?
We asked wholesale trade businesses to share their top concerns over the past year. The top three selected include:
63% of wholesale SMBs ranked “growing revenue and/or their customer base” as a top concern—compared to SMBs overall, where it ranks third (40%).
34% flagged profitability as a top concern, slightly below the SMB average of 41%.
31% are concerned about the overall economy, compared to 41% of total SMBs surveyed.
Cloud migration: Remote access is king
Top cloud challenge: Lack of technical expertise (37%). Top benefit: Remote access from anywhere (63%—significantly higher than the 46% SMB average).
Security: The biggest gap in the industry
Twenty-six percent of wholesale trade businesses have suffered a cybersecurity breach, which is a jump from the 18% SMB average.
In terms of confidence levels, 63% feel “very” or “moderately” confident in their current security measures, below the 70% SMB average.
Only 8% of wholesale trade businesses feel “very confident” in their current security measures.
Rightworks’ 2026 Business Stability Report
AI adoption: Wholesale trade lags significantly
Top concerns: Lack of knowledge/training (51%) and data privacy (47%). Top benefits: Time savings (57%) and automation of tasks (42%).
Business management: Prioritize planning ASAP
Wholesale trade businesses lag significantly behind SMBs overall in business planning. In fact, only 26% have plans in place—significantly lower than the 42% SMB average.
- Data security plan: Just 23% have one—significantly lower than the 44% SMB average.
- Succession plan: 26% have a documented succession plan, compared to the 39% SMB average.
- Growth plan: Only 29% of wholesale trade businesses have a growth plan in place, lower than the 43% average for all SMBs.
Resources for Wholesale Trade Businesses
Find out if you’ve got everything you need to keep your business going strong.
Explore the full findings from Rightworks’ 2026 SMB Technology Survey.
