Small business sales hold steady in August

The latest Fiserv Small Business Index^® is now available. August small business sales delivered year-over-year growth while month-over-month sales remained stable. Increased foot traffic may have been at least partly affected by the lowest inflation rate in over three years.

Highlights:

• Small business retail sales grew by +1.0% month over month and +3.0% year over year
• Back-to-school sales could be a factor in retail growth as clothing stores saw the biggest gains (+2.1%) over July while general merchandise was the strongest retail performer (+8.8%) on an annual basis
• Restaurant sales bounced back with an index of 126, a 3-point gain over July, a turnaround that follows four months of flat or declining sales
• Specialty trade contractors and professional services experienced index declines of 3 points and 2 points, respectively, over July

Read the full report online and explore the data based on national, state, local or NAICS sectors. Click on Get Data to download data by sector, location and date range.

Please note that in December 2024 we made some changes in our methodology for measuring small business.  Publications from November 2024 and prior will not reflect these changes. For more details on this methodology change, please see our FAQs section on this website.