Fiserv: April small business sales flat from March amid higher prices
High prices continued to sustain small business sales in April.
U.S. small business sales growth in April was driven largely by the higher prices consumers are paying for goods and services, revealed Fiserv's Small Business Index for April 2026. Both sales and transactions were flat (0.0%) in April compared to March.
Small business sales rose 1.1% year over year, supported by higher average tickets (2.8%), which marked the largest year over year average ticket increase since 2022 and the fifth consecutive month with average tickets growing more than 2.0%. Transactions (foot traffic) declined -1.7% year over year.
“In April, small business spending remained resilient on the surface, but sales growth continued to be sustained by price-driven gains rather than increased demand,” said Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer, Fiserv.
Grocery spending softened in April, with sales (-2.3%) and foot traffic (-0.8%) both declining year over year. Building materials saw sales (-1.4%) and transactions (-2.1%) both decline month over month, though year-over-year traffic was strong (3.6%).
Other insights from the April report are below.
•Restaurant sales declined year over year (-1.6%) and month over month (-0.2%) in April. Limited-service restaurants experienced notable declines, with sales down (-4.8%) year over year and foot traffic falling (-5.1%) even as average tickets held steady.
[READ MORE: Survey: Consumers spend more than $11,000 locally per year]
•Full-service restaurants saw slight gains year over year (0.8%) and month over month (0.2%), despite flat foot traffic (-0.1% year over year, 0.3% month over month) and rising average tickets (0.9%) compared to 2025.
•In April, essential category sales increased 1.9%, supported by average ticket growth (3.5%). Discretionary sales rose (0.4%), even as average tickets increased (2.2%). Foot traffic declined at similar rates across both essentials (-1.6%) and discretionary (-1.8%).
•Goods sales grew slightly (0.2%) year over year as foot traffic increased (0.9%), while average tickets declined (-0.7%) following strong prior-year demand, according to Fiserv. Services sales rose (1.5%) year over year, driven by higher average tickets (4.2%) even as transactions dipped (-1.7%).
•Gas station sales grew 4.4% month over month and 19.0% year over year, driven by higher average tickets. Fiserv said that rising fuel costs likely contributed to higher average tickets across service segments that are likely to pass gas-related costs on to consumers, including professional services (9.8%), transportation and warehousing (11.7%) and administrative support services (11.0%).
"As prices stay elevated, consumers are adjusting how they spend. They are visiting less often, prioritizing value and moderating nonessential categories – behaviors that sustain dollars spent while keeping overall foot traffic muted," said Dhore.
The Fiserv Small Business Index is derived from point-of-sale transaction data, including card, cash and check transactions in-store and online across approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses, including hundreds of thousands leveraging the Clover point-of-sale and business management platform.
