Fiserv: Small business sales — especially retail — tick up in June
Higher average tickets increased small business sales in June despite ongoing economic headwinds.
Fiserv’s latest Small Business Index for June 2026 revealed that sales rose 2.4% year over year and 0.8% month over month. Small business growth remained driven by higher average tickets, which increased 3.7% compared to 2025. The seasonally adjusted Index increased to 145 from 144 in May.
In retail, total sales increased 3.0% year over year and 1.5% month over month in June. Fiserv said growth was supported by both transactions (1.8% month over month, 2.7% year over year) and modest price gains, indicating more balanced demand.
Small business restaurant sales increased slightly (0.2%) year over year, an improvement from last May’s falling sales. June’s growth remained driven by higher average tickets, which increased 3.3% year over year. Foot traffic continued its decline, falling 3.1% year over year.
“Small business spending in June was driven by a healthier balance between pricing gains and consumer activity,” said Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer at Fiserv. “Persistent inflation continues to shape spending behavior across both essential and discretionary categories, but the retail bounce and shift to goods spending suggest resilience.”
Other insights from the Small Business Index for June include the following:
- Sales at gas stations increased 15.3% year over year, but declined 4.7% month over month in June, with average tickets falling 3.2% compared to May. Despite easing prices, transaction activity declined both month over month (-1.4%) and year over year (-1.5%), reflecting lower demand in June.
- In June, goods sales (largely discretionary-driven) rose 3.0% year over year, driven by (2.5%) year over year transaction growth. Average tickets increased just 0.5% year over year, suggesting consumers are finding value through product selection and price comparison, according to Fiserv.
- Services (which lean toward essentials) grew 2.1% year over year, but saw transactions decline 2.7% year over year on higher average tickets (4.8%), suggesting that growth still depends on pricing, with fewer low-priced options to choose from.
[READ MORE: Survey: Grocery shoppers remain concerned prices could keep rising]
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.
