Services and Retail Consumer Spending Boost Fiserv’s Small Business Index

Small-business sales were up 4.9% year-over-year in December as consumers maintained strong retail spending while diverting more to service-based businesses, found the latest Fiserv Small Business Index.

Launched a year ago, the index analyzes transaction data from approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses on the Fiserv Inc. and Clover point-of-sale platforms. Clover is owned by Fiserv.

Within retail, the index saw consumer spending resulting in a 4.9% increase in sales and a 5.8% rise in transactions year-over-year in December. The fastest-growing merchant categories were general merchandise, up 14.1%, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and furniture, up 7.5%, and electronics and appliances, up 6.3%.

Consumers also spent more on services last month with a 4.9% growth in this segment. Top growth service categories were professional, scientific, and technical services, up 12.2%, and food manufacturing, up 9.8%, and truck transportation, up 8.6%.

One competitive merchant segment, restaurants, experienced a decline, down 3.4% in December year-over-year, while the number of transactions increased 4.1% from December 2023. Year-over-year the average ticket size dropped 7.4% in December.

Full-service restaurants were most affected, Fiserv says, while quick service and fast casual performed better.

“Notably, consumers diverted more spend to service-based business, retail spending continued to display strength, and consumers spent less dining out as average restaurant ticket sizes continued to decline,” Prasanna Dhore, Fiserv chief data officer, says in a statement.