Fiserv: Small business sales see uptick in September
Back-to-school shopping gave a much needed boost to small businesses in September.
According to the Fiserv Small Business Index for September 2026, overall sales rose 0.7% month over month, the strongest annual gain since June, and were up 2.2% year over year. Total retail sales increased 1.3% month over month, matching June’s high, and were up 3.0% year over year.
Retail transactions increased 2.4% year over year, while average tickets inched up 0.5%. Sporting goods, hobby and miscellaneous retailers gained 5.5% on 6.6% transaction growth, led by a 10.4% increase among sporting goods retailers. Fiserv noted that clothing foot traffic rose 6.1%, even as average tickets fell 4.7% year over year.
[READ MORE: PayPal: Here's how holiday shopping is changing]
September discretionary sales at small businesses rose 2.0% year over year, up from 0.9% in August. However, Fiserv noted that discretionary transactions fell 2.2% year over year, suggesting families shifted spending toward clothing, shoes and school supplies and away from dining and services.
“September’s results reflect the resilience of consumers and small businesses, but also the trade-offs households are making as they manage higher costs,” said Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer at Fiserv. “Spending remains deliberate, with consumers shifting dollars among categories to meet immediate needs while pulling back elsewhere.”
Goods sales increased 2.9% in September on 0.2% transaction growth, while average tickets edged up 0.7%. Services grew 1.9% on higher prices, with average tickets up 5.4% and foot traffic down 3.5%, its steepest decline in more than a year.
Gas station sales grew 21.1% year over year and 6.0% month over month as average tickets rose 20.9% and transactions remained nearly flat at 0.2%. Adjusted for inflation, sales fell 5.0%, which Fiserv says indicates drivers paid more for gas, but did not buy more.
Grocery sales also rebounded in September, as food and beverage retailer sales rose 1.9% year over year as transactions increased 1.5%, likely reflecting back-to-school restocking.
Food services and drinking places sales fell 1.0% year over year and 0.2% month over month as transactions declined 3.9%, offsetting a 2.8% increase in average tickets. Limited-service restaurants posted the steepest declines, with sales down 4.0% and transactions down 5.6% year over year. Full-service restaurant sales edged up 0.8%, while drinking places rose 5.3% year over year.
Methodology
The Fiserv Small Business Index is based on aggregated consumer spending activity across the U.S. small business economy. Unlike surveys or sentiment data, the Index uses point-of-sale data from card, cash and check transactions made in stores and online at approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses, including hundreds of thousands that use the Clover point-of-sale and business management platform.
