According to the latest Fiserv Small Business Index, consumer resilience is still driving solid year-over-year growth, but August brought signs of a ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ.
The Index held steady at 149, with sales up +3.9% YoY and transactions +3.7% YoY. But month-over-month average ticket size fell -1.5%, even as foot traffic rose +1.4%
๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ!
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด
– ๐ค๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ led the way with +8.3% YoY sales growth as consumers traded down from full-service dining
– ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น held steady, but inflation-adjusted sales are still down YoY
– ๐ช๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ saw bigger tickets but fewer transactions, likely reflecting tariff-driven cost pressure
– Spending on ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ (e.g., groceries, gas, apparel) edged up MoM, while ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ (e.g., small contractors, professionals) dipped
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐:
While demand remains strong, buying behavior is shifting. Consumers are still shopping, eating out, and spending, but more selectively.
That shift creates opportunity if you can:
– Reach new businesses early (especially those offering low-friction, value-oriented services)
– Tailor messaging to budget-conscious decision makers
– Stay ahead of seasonal and sector-specific swings
You can read the full Fiserv Small Business Index report here: https://lnkd.in/gu-DdHRx
๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐:
We help B2B marketers find and reach newly formed small businesses in retail, restaurants, food service, trades, personal services, and more – right as they open their doors.
๐๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐๐๐๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ.
๐ค Seeing similar patterns in your industry? Drop your take below. Weโd love to hear how your team is adapting.
Market research professionals frequently collaborate and share insights through the Insights Association: https://www.insightsassociation.org