Consumer Spending Rose Slightly in September as Consumers Turn Pragmatic in Purchasing, Fiserv Finds

Small businesses continued to see slow but steady month-over-month sales growth in September, according to the Fiserv Small Business Index. Month-over-month sales increased 0.1% in September from August, while transactions increased 0.3%. Average ticket sizes fell 0.2% from August.

Overall, the metric for the index held steady at 148 for the third consecutive month, reflecting a more “pragmatic” approach to spending among consumers, Fiserv says.

Published the first week of each month, the Fiserv Small Business Index tracks point-of-sale transaction data, including card, cash, and check transactions in-store and online across 2 million small businesses in the United States.

Restaurants are among retailers most affected by the slowdown in spending, with month-over-month sales increasing just 0.3% in September.

Within the restaurant category, bars and pubs posted the highest growth for the month at 1.6%, and saw a 1.1% increase in foot traffic in September compared to August. Full-service restaurants saw smaller month-over-month increases in sales (0.3%) and foot traffic (0.2%). Quick-service restaurants saw a 0.1% increase in sales for the month and a 0.4% increase in foot traffic compared to August.

Hobby, toy, and game retailers saw a healthy month-over-month sales increase, rising 2.2% during the period, while sales by service providers grew just 0.2%. Overall, discretionary purchases dropped 0.1% in September from the prior month, while essential spending rose 0.3%, according to the index.

“Pragmatism continued to guide consumer spending in September, with discretionary purchases slowing and the essentials seeing the most growth,” Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer for Fiserv, says in a statement. “This continuation of budget-conscious purchasing resulted in slower growth in categories like arts, entertainment, recreation, and retail, while professional services, health care, and many other essential industries grew.”

Despite the slow month-to-month sales gains in September, the good news for small businesses is that sales are increasing faster on a year-over-year basis. Compared to September 2024, sales and transactions for small businesses each increased 2.3%, while average ticket sizes grew 0.1%.

Year-over-year retail sales grew 1.6% in September. Categories experiencing the highest growth during the period were sporting goods, hobby, miscellaneous, and furniture and appliance retailers, all of which posted year-over-year increases of 5.3%. Clothing and jewelry retailers were not far off, posting a 5.1% growth rate from a year ago.

Restaurant sales grew 1.2% year-over-year, while services sales increased 1.7%.