Fiserv: Small business retail sales rise, restaurant spending dips in October
Small business retail sales inched up in October as consumers began their holiday shopping.
Sales grew 0.7% month over month and 0.6% year over year in October, according to the latest Fiserv Small Business Index. Core retail, which excludes more volatile categories, was stronger, with sales growth up 1.6% month over month and 2.6% year over year. The seasonally adjusted Index held steady at 148.
Fiserv noted significant monthly sales gains in the sporting goods (3.0%) and clothing (1.9%) categories, two discretionary categories that benefit from early holiday-themed sales activity. Food and beverage (grocery) sales were up 1.4% month over month.
Overall, year-over-year small business sales (1.5%) and transactions (1.1%) both grew, but this was the slowest annual sales growth rate since February 2025. Month-over-month sales (0.1%) and transactions (0.1%) each saw small increases compared to September 2025. When adjusted for inflation, small business sales declined 1.4% year over year, which Fiserv said is the steepest decline of the previous eight months.
“Consumers continued spending cautiously in October, pulling back significantly at restaurants and across many discretionary categories,” said Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer at Fiserv. “Small retailers, however, did see an uptick in sales – a positive indicator as these businesses move deeper into the holiday shopping season.”
[READ MORE: How tariffs will impact businesses this holiday season]
For October, discretionary spending rose (0.2%) year over year, while essential sales growth maintained a faster pace (2.5%). Compared to September, discretionary spending was flat (0.0%), while essential spending rose modestly (+0.4%).
Restaurants continue to face headwinds, according to Fiserv, with sales growing slightly (0.1%) year over year for October, and declining 0.3% month over month. Bars and pubs saw a decrease in foot traffic (-0.5%) and sales (-0.1%) compared to September. Full-service restaurants continued to struggle with month-over-month sales (-0.1%) and foot traffic (-0.2%) dropping while average tickets (+0.2%) grew. Limited service (or quick-service) restaurants saw month-over-month sales (-0.6%) and foot traffic (-0.8%) decrease, while average tickets rose (+0.2%).
Fiserv Small Business Index’s 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.
