Fiserv, Inc., a global provider of payments and financial services technology, reported that its Small Business Index for August 2025 remained steady at 149, reflecting continued resilience in consumer spending among U.
S. small businesses.
The latest index showed year-over-year sales increasing by 3.9% and transactions by 3.7%, with average ticket sizes growing by 0.3% compared to 2024. However, month-over-month sales were largely unchanged, despite a 1.4% increase in foot traffic, as average ticket sizes fell by 1.5% compared to July, indicating a consumer shift towards value-driven purchases.
Prasanna Dhore, Chief Data Officer at Fiserv, commented on the findings, stating, “August saw consumers continue to show up to small businesses, but often spending less at checkout compared to July. This shift to budget-conscious decisions was prevalent in restaurants, as consumers opted for fast and affordable options when dining out. In other industries such as wholesale trade, where macroeconomic pressure is pushing ticket sizes higher, foot-traffic is declining.”
Key takeaways from the August 2025 Fiserv Small Business Index include a notable surge in quick-service restaurant sales. Restaurant sales grew 2.1% month over month, driven by a 1.8% rise in foot traffic. Year-over-year, restaurant sales increased 2.2% and foot traffic grew 3.4%, with these gains primarily attributed to quick-service restaurants (QSR) which saw an 8.3% year-over-year growth as consumers favored economical dining options.
Retail sales and foot traffic remained steady month over month, increasing by 1.1% and 0.9% respectively, with growth across all retail subsectors except Health & Personal Care. Despite this, inflation-adjusted retail sales decreased by 1.4% year-over-year, continuing a contraction trend observed since April.
In the wholesale trade sector, sales slipped 0.3% month over month due to a 2.5% drop in transactions, although average ticket sizes rose 2.3%. Year-over-year sales growth of 3.1% was driven by a 5.8% increase in ticket size, potentially signaling tariff-related pressures, while transactions fell 2.7% year-over-year.
Regarding spending categories, discretionary spending rose 1.2% month over month, led by QSRs and budget-friendly entertainment. Essential spending, however, decreased 1.5% month over month, suggesting a reallocation of short-term spending as the summer season concluded. Year-over-year, essential spending increased 5.9%, nearly tripling the 2.0% growth seen in discretionary spending.
A short-term shift in spending from services to goods was also observed, with goods sales increasing 0.6% month over month while services slipped 0.5%. Groceries, gasoline, and clothing contributed to goods growth, whereas professional services and small contractor services experienced pullbacks. Long-term trends show services sales growth of 4.8% year-over-year, outperforming goods at 2.0%.
The Fiserv Small Business Index is published monthly, providing a direct aggregation of consumer spending activity across approximately 2 million U.
S. small businesses. This includes hundreds of thousands leveraging the Clover point-of-sale and business management platform. Benchmarked to 2019, the index offers numeric values for consumer spending and customer traffic, accessible by region, state, and business types categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a Fortune 500 company, is recognized as a global leader in payments and financial technology. The company supports clients with solutions in account processing, digital banking, card issuer processing, network services, payments, e-commerce, merchant acquiring, and its Clover point-of-sale system. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index.
