Small business sales remain steady, consumers shift from retail to services 

September small business sales delivered year-over-year growth while month-over-month sales remained stable for the third month in a row. The return to school and planning for cooler weather may have influenced a shift from retail to services spending.

Highlights:

• Small business retail sales were up +0.6% year over year, but down ‑1.7% month over month due to easing foot traffic and slightly lower average ticket sizes
• After a busy August, restaurants fell ‑1.0% month over month, largely due to a ‑0.9% drop in average ticket sizes
• Among services, ambulatory health care saw a 6-point rise in index value, while specialty trade contractors jumped 4 points
• Month-over-month spending at small businesses slowed in some areas, including Truck Transportation (-2.5%) and Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation (-3.5%)

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.