Alibaba.com, Vendio and Auctiva conducted a survey of 600 small businesses in December 2012 and found that 63% of respondents expect the economy to stay the same or worsen in 2013.

Kind of grim, eh? But hear them out…

Despite their conservative outlook on the economy, these small businesses*, remain generally optimistic about their own opportunities, says the survey. Nearly half of the respondents expected to grow their revenues this year by doing more with less (the theme of the last three years, perhaps?)

Below is an infographic that highlights the survey’s findings. As per usual, some highlights:

– 46% of the small businesses surveyed expect to see revenue growth in 2013.
– 78% of small business owners said one of their top tasks in 2013 will be to cut costs and streamline operations. 87% did not plan to hire additional employees this year, and said they expected to make better progress through increasing the efficiency of existing resources.
– Almost half of the respondents expect to create a new e-commerce website, 30% expect to import new products, and 23% said they would focus more attention on growing their international sales by exporting products.
– 54% described word of mouth as one of their most effective marketing techniques, with social media coming in second at 37%.
– More than 80% of businesses surveyed have not yet optimized their websites for mobile sales. Given multiple competing priorities and resource limitations, small businesses cited expertise and cost as key inhibitors to pursuing mobile initiatives.
– For those interested in exporting, the UK is their top choice, getting 29% of the votes.

*A bit about the data: 92% of the small businesses surveyed had between 1 and 5 employees, 80% were online-only and 82% had 2012 revenues of $50,000 or under. (So we’re talking really small businesses, people!) Here’s the graphic: