Fiserv, Inc. has released its Small Business Index for October 2025, with the seasonally adjusted figure holding steady at 148. The report indicates a slowdown in the pace of small business sales growth, with year-over-year figures showing the weakest increase since February. When adjusted for inflation, sales actually declined, highlighting ongoing pressures on small business revenue despite nominal growth.
Quick Intel
The Fiserv Small Business Index remained steady at 148 for October 2025.
Year-over-year sales growth slowed to its lowest rate since February.
When adjusted for inflation, small business sales declined year-over-year.
Retail sales saw a monthly uptick, a positive sign for the holiday season.
Essential spending growth continued to outpace discretionary spending.
The restaurant sector struggled with declining sales and foot traffic.
Retail Shows Strength Amid Broader Slowdown
Small business retail sales demonstrated resilience with a month-over-month increase, while Core Retail, which excludes volatile categories, showed even stronger growth. This suggests a positive start to the holiday shopping season for small retailers. Specific discretionary categories like Sporting Goods and Clothing saw significant monthly gains, likely driven by early holiday-themed sales activity. The Food and Beverage (grocery) category also experienced growth, buoyed by both increased foot traffic and higher average transaction values.
A Widening Gap Between Essential and Discretionary Spending
The data reveals a continuing trend of consumers prioritizing essential purchases over discretionary ones. While spending on essentials maintained a faster growth pace year-over-year, discretionary spending saw only a minimal increase and was flat compared to the previous month. This widening gap indicates that consumers are continuing to spend cautiously, pulling back on non-essential categories as they navigate the current economic environment.
Restaurant Sector Faces Continued Headwinds
The restaurant industry continued to face significant challenges in October. Sales declined month-over-month across the sector, with both full-service and limited-service restaurants experiencing decreases in foot traffic. While average ticket sizes saw a slight increase, it was not enough to offset the drop in customer visits. This trend underscores the ongoing pressure on the restaurant industry as consumer spending habits shift.
The Fiserv Small Business Index provides a data-driven view of the health of the small business economy, directly aggregating point-of-sale transaction data from approximately two million U.S. small businesses. The steady index figure coupled with slowing growth and an inflation-adjusted decline points to a cautious and complex economic landscape for small businesses as they move into the critical holiday season.
About the Fiserv Small Business Index®
The Fiserv Small Business Index is published during the first week of every month and differentiated by its direct aggregation of consumer spending activity within the U.S. small business ecosystem. Rather than relying on survey or sentiment data, 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.
Benchmarked to 2019, the Fiserv Small Business Index provides a numeric value measuring consumer spending, with an accompanying transaction index measuring customer traffic. Through a simple interface, users can access data by region, state, and/or across business types categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Level-6 Classification System. The Fiserv Small Business Index provides visibility into more than 70 industries, allowing users to track sales trends with precision and understand the diverse dynamics shaping the U.S. small business economy.
Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a Fortune 500 company, moves more than money. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and Clover®, the world’s smartest point-of-sale system and business management platform. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index, one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential Companies™ and one of Fortune® World’s Most Admired Companies™. Visit fiserv.com and follow on social media for more information and the latest company news.
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