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Consumers made fewer shopping trips in September but demand for back-to-school supplies helped boost overall sales, according to Fiserv Inc.’s Small Business Index, released early Monday.
All in all, the index for September registered at 146, up one point from August and a 2.2% increase from the same month last year. Fiserv’s monthly index takes into account data related to billions of transactions in all 50 U.S. states, the big processor says.
The rise in the index came despite a 2% year-over-year drop in foot traffic across the board, while foot traffic for September fell 0.2% from August, according to Fiserv’s data. Still, the data indicate retail sales overall grew 3%. Active sectors included food-and-beverage retailers, with an index reading up 1.9%, while the accommodation sector rose nearly 11%.
“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 Fiserv’s chief data officer, Prasanna Dhore, in a statement. “Spending remains deliberate, with consumers shifting dollars among categories to meet immediate needs while pulling back elsewhere.”
Overall, average tickets rose 4.2% year-over-year as consumers tended toward spending related to school-year activities and other retail sales, taking momentum away from restaurant spending, according to the index. The food services and drinking places sector saw sales drop 0.2% month-over-month, with transactions dropping 3.9%. That result wiped out the effect of a 2.8% rise in average tickets, Fiserv says.
The Small Business Index is drawn from card, cash, and check transactions at the point of sale and online at approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses, according to Milwaukee-based Fiserv. The data includes information drawn from the company’s installed base of Clover POS devices.
