Fiserv’s December Index Notes a Modest Increase in Small Business Sales

Days after the end of the 2025 holiday shopping season, Fiserv Inc. notes modest gains in its monthly Small Business Index, with a one-point increase to 144 in December from November. Fiserv notes consumers shopping at small businesses tended to focus on the essentials and selective discretionary spending.

That slight change is not unusual for the index. The December 2024 index of 141 nationally mirrored the November index and in 2023 the December index was flat from the 138 in November that year.

The December 2025 index of 144 was the highest of the year, with the range from 141 to 144. In the past two years, each December had the highest index value.

December retail sales tend to benefit most businesses. Fiserv says small-business sales last month increased 0.9% month-over-month and 0.3% year-over-year. The sporting-goods category had the strongest growth, with a 5.2% increase annually and a 5.8% bump in foot traffic.

Consumers, apparently mindful of economic pressures, reserved a lot of their December shopping to essential categories, which saw a 2.8% increase year-over-year compared with a 0.7% increase for discretionary items in the same period.

Small-business restaurant sales were almost flat, with only a 0.1% year-over-year increase in sales while sales were flat November to December. Fiserv says a 1.5% dip in foot traffic year-over-year was a primary driver of the slow growth. Limited-service restaurants, with a 0.5% increase in sales, bested full-service ones, which sustained a 0.6% decrease year-over-year. Sales at bars—driven entirely by increased foot traffic, Fiserv says—were up 1%.

“Consumers focused on essentials and made selective discretionary purchases, driven by ongoing cost pressures. These patterns, resulting in modest monthly sales growth, highlight how small businesses continue to adjust in a challenging economic climate,” Prasanna Dhore, Fiserv chief data officer, says in a statement.

The Fiserv index tracks transaction activity at the more than 2 million small businesses served by it.